Harry Potter and the Sea of Monsters
by Pink Wolf Princess
Summary: HPJ verse.  It's been nearly a year since Harry's first quest.  Now on his second quest, it's time to brave the challenges of the titular sea, such as the Sirens.
1. Chapter 1: My Best Friend Dress Shops

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. And happy first day of spring!

This was edited by Mellie Erdmann.

Yeah… go check out "Harry Potter and the Lightning Thief" (or "Percy Jackson and the Sorcerer's Stone") before reading this. Go, really.

No? Well, at least read the blurb for "Harry Potter and the Lightning Thief"-

_Harry Potter woke up on an American bus and accidentally-on-purpose killed a teacher without a clue about what he had gotten himself into. And that's the least of his troubles. It turns out mythological monsters and the Greek gods are real in this world and they're already angry at him. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and the guy whose body Harry is in is the prime suspect._

_Now Harry and his new demigod friends have only ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on this quest, Harry will have to do more than find the real thief: he must come to terms with this new world; solve the Oracle's baffling prophecy, which warns of a friend's betrayal; and unravel a conspiracy that could bring down the very gods._

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><p><strong>Chapter One: My Best Friend Shops for a Wedding Dress<strong>

Harry Potter thought he had gotten used to weird dreams. Then he learned about a whole new category of 'strange' thanks to a dream he had one early June while on a solo quest.

He was sitting in a little shop, sipping a strange warm liquid. The label called it 'butterbeer'. Glancing at his reflection in the shop's window, he saw it had changed- again. At least this time it was someone he recognized.

He was one of the four people the Oracle had shown him during the first prophecy he had received from her, throwing him into a quest to keep this world from ending. Oddly, he wasn't the one who had looked almost exactly like his true self, but the one Hades had reminded him of- pale skin, shoulder length black hair, grey eyes, and charismatically handsome. Weirdly, he was wearing a crimson robe over jeans and a black sweater.

Harry was worried he wasn't panicked about the fact that he was not in charge of this body, but was rather shunted off to one side to observe only.

"Hey," went an oddly familiar voice. The guy who looked like an older version of the real Harry but with hazel eyes exited the back room, carting a giant poufy white dress. He too was wearing a robe- a mossy green one over brown slacks and a grey T-shirt. "Do you think she'll like this one?"

"Too poufy," went a third voice. Harry found himself looking over to its source, which turned out to be the third male of the quartet the Oracle had shown him- the one with brown hair and gold-brown eyes. Now he looked younger, with no grey hairs. "Lily would hex you to oblivion."

"She would, wouldn't she?" sighed the one who looked like Harry. "Padfoot, what do you think?"

"I'd get it just to see the look on her face," joked Padfoot.

"Hah-ha," the messy-haired man made a face at Padfoot as he tossed the gown onto a chair. "Okay, I'll go find another one."

And he went back into the other room to find another dress. After taking a long chug of butterbeer Padfoot asked the brown-haired man, "You sure you're fine with me being Prongs' best man, Moony?"

"Yeah, Padfoot," Moony replied with a smile. "You two are best _best_ friends."

"Wish Wormtail was here; his mom's health has been declining lately," Padfoot noted. "Oh well, he'll be sure to show up at the wedding…"

"Of course; thank goodness it's on a new moon," mumbled Moony, tugging at one of the sleeves of his tan turtleneck sweater.

"Yeah," acknowledged Padfoot just as Prongs returned with a bright pink strapless gown with white silk roses embroidered on it.

"Well?"

"Eh…" went both awkwardly.

Defensively Prongs said, "Lily can wear pink!"

"Not that shade- besides, white is more traditional," pointed out Moony. Sulkily Prongs put down the gown and retreated. Moony asked Padfoot, "Where is Lily, anyway? At the florist's again?"

"Nope- she's off picking out bridesmaid dresses. Tomorrow she and Prongs will go pick out the cake, yum…"

"Do you think it'll be chocolate?"

Padfoot laughed. "No idea. I bet your wedding cake will be all chocolate, huh, Moony?"

"I'm not going to get married, Padfoot, I'm not," Moony blushed. Plaintively he added, "Who'd want to marry me anyway?"

"A better question is who'd want to marry me," snorted Padfoot, eyeing his bottle of butterbeer. "James lucked out with Lily, didn't he?"

In the pause that followed Harry realized that Prongs, Moony, Padfoot, and Wormtail were nicknames- and that if the man who looked like him was a relative, then he finally had a clue about his family besides his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and cousin Dudley.

"Yes," agreed Moony softly. "Good thing he knows it, too."

Before Padfoot could reply, Prongs-cum-James swept in carrying a white long-sleeved gown with off-shoulder sleeves and silver runes embroidered onto the flowing skirt and fitted bodice. He looked rather pleased with himself. "What about this one?"

As Moony and Padfoot admitted it was a very nice gown, Harry felt himself slipping away…

HPJHPJHPJ

He woke up to an owl hooting its farewell as the sun peeked over the horizon. With a yawn, he rolled out of his bedroll. As he noticed a silver thread touched with red lying across his left hand, it melted into his hand.

"That can't be good," Harry spoke out loud. He studied his hand for a minute but when he couldn't find anything wrong he just packed up his bedroll and got ready to continue his quest. On the first of May he had finally worn down Chiron enough to ask the Oracle about where he could find a weapon that would suit him. Riptide, or _Anaklusmos_ in the ancient Greek, was close but since Harry was not a true son of Poseidon it didn't feel right.

Harry was in the body of a forbidden child- a son of a mortal woman and one of the Big Three, in this case Poseidon, named Perseus Jackson. Originally it had been feared that Perseus had stolen the master bolt the December before last, but he had been proven innocent when Harry; Clarisse LeRue, daughter of Ares; and Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena had gone on a quest to find it.

At the end of the day, though, Harry was caught between too many paths and ways of being. That was part of why Riptide nor any other celestial bronze weapon he had tried would not work for him.

Harry still wondered sometimes how Percy was coping in Harry's original world. He would have started secondary school by now at Stonewall High. But Harry pushed thoughts of Percy to the back of his mind as he chowed down on one of his remaining granola bars while trekking through the dense, ancient forest he had been struggling through for the past fortnight.

The Oracle had given him a prophecy about how and where to find a weapon that would fit him:

_Go to far Scotland without aid,_

_Plumb the lake where the swords have laid._

_Be sure to pick the right sword,_

_Or the lake will have the last word._

Thankfully Percy's watery powers were guiding him to the correct lake, and Harry was sure the lake of the prophecy was just beyond these woods. He made his way around a spider web, remembering how spiders had lived in his cupboard at Privet Drive.

He thought more about his dream as he hiked on. Clearly someone or something had wanted him to see that memory- but why? Was James-cum-Prongs his father? Did that make the Lily they were shopping for his mother? And what had happened to Moony, Wormtail, and Padfoot if they been that close to his parents? Why had they never come to meet Harry? Had the Dursleys forbade it? That sounded like something they would do.

The sun was past its zenith when the trees finally started to shrink and the gaps between them grew. Eagerly Harry picked up speed- he found himself excited to see what was on the other side of the forest, like he'd been waiting for this all his life. Which was absurd, as this wasn't even his Great Britain.

Giving up, he started to run as the sunlight brightened and he could all but see the glinting waters of the dark lake. Then he drew up short at the forest's edge just to take in the view.

The empty space was full of knee-height blooming heather nearly right up the lakeshore. On the lake's other side was a flat-topped mountain that seemed lonely somehow. But Harry refocused on the nearly black waters of the lake. The buzzing in his veins told him that this was the lake he needed to explore. Heading down to its edge, he stripped off his backpack and dirty orange camp shirt but left on his leather camp necklace. Next he kicked off his sneakers and tugged off his socks.

Harry, despite knowing he could breathe underwater now, took a deep breath. Then the preteen swam out into the frigid lake before diving in to find a sword for himself.


	2. Chapter 2: Dodgeball with Cannibals

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

One and a half other characters from another series will be joining the story this chapter (expanding the crossover), and I got the sword name from the Children of the Red King series (I have enough trouble pronouncing normal words, so don't ask me how to say the sword name; seriously). So I own nada here.

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

Also, go read Gunnerkrigg Court. It is a free webcomic over 1000 pages long, and it makes me (and despite the name, I'm not a total girly girl) squee over the outfits, plot, pairings, plot twists, characters, magic, the art style as it evolves, the places, and everything else. In sum, it is one of the best series I have ever read. Go. Now.

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: I Play Dodgeball with Cannibals<strong>

The water was cool and dark as Harry swam down to its bottom. Formations that looked like ruins littered the lake floor. Swimming slowly through the mysterious waters, Harry kept his eyes out for anything resembling a weapon. He tried to convince himself that the occasional murky, large movements came from his imagination, but with his awareness of Greek mythology being the reality here, Harry doubted it was just his imagination.

Reaching the center of the lake, he saw twin glints. Getting closer, he saw two swords had been placed on the lake floor. One was buried halfway to the hilt in a boulder, while the other laid flat on a slab of blue-grey stone. Both shone grey in the lake's semi-darkness, with matching hilts decorated with dark green stones and endless knot patterns.

_These must be the multiple swords the Oracle told me about_, Harry thought to himself. _But which one should I take? One I can, but the other will lead to my imminent death…_

Aunt Petunia had forbidden Harry from reading or watching anything with the slightest hint of fantasy to it. That had left his knowledge of Greek mythology seriously lacking, though he had been catching up over the past year. These two swords, however, seemed to belong to a different set of stories.

Wracking his brain, Harry remembered one of his primary school teachers telling the class about the legendary King Arthur- first he had pulled a sword out of a stone to prove himself the king, and later had received an even more special sword from the Lady of the Lake. These must be representations of those two swords, or this world's versions of the actual swords. One sword had to be given, but the other could just be taken if you were worthy.

Harry made his way over to the embedded sword and wrapped his hands around the hilt. Planting his feet in the silt, he pulled the blade out of the stone with a slick swish. Instantly Harry felt how right the blade felt in his hands. Apparently he was still British, not American or Greek despite being in the body of someone with that mixed heritage, and therefore needed a proper British blade.

Sword in hand, Harry swam up and out of the lake. He laid down the blade and read the word engraved onto it as he got dressed.

_Caledfwlch_

Out of nowhere a fireball soared overhead, crashing a few yards away from Harry. Wheeling around, Harry grabbed his new grey sword to see his attackers. Half a dozen figures were clambering down the side of the mountain, five of them bearing flaming dodgeballs. One threw his at Harry, taking better aim than his companion.

As it approached, Harry sliced it in half, standing his ground. The six were eight feet tall and had tattooed arms, dressed in jeans and tight T-shirts. As they neared, Harry could see they had wild eyes and pointed teeth as well. Clearly they were monsters.

Harry gulped, realizing that their weapons weren't actually flaming dodgeballs. They were the size of cannon balls, made of celestial bronze, and had flames spitting out the holes that covered them. And the two giants who had already thrown theirs had pulled out new ones out of somewhere.

"We Laistrygonians shall first play for your death, and then we will go get lunch from the old rugby players!" crowed one of the giants, who must have been their leader.

"Uh-huh," went Harry, grabbing Riptide out of his jeans pocket. It didn't feel as right as Caledfwlch, but two swords would be better than one in a battle against six man-eating giants. Swinging both blades, he called out, "Bring it!"

And he ran right at them. The flaming balls were thrown at Harry but he either dodged or sliced them in half as he continued his charge. The giants picked up speed as well, but then their focus shifted away from Harry, hungry grins spreading across their faces.

The eleven-year-old risked a look back. From the space between the woods and the mountain had appeared a small girl with blonde pigtails, no older than eight years old. She held a fistful of dandelions in one hand, and she looked frightened by the scene she had come across.

Both Annabeth and Chiron had told Harry that most young children could see through the Mist that kept mortals from noticing the mythological aspects of the world, but he didn't think that was what was happening here for some reason.

Cackling, one giant aimed his flaming dodgeball at the girl, roaring, "LUNCH!"

"_Di immortales_," muttered Harry as he jumped up to slice the ball in half as it flew through the air. Closing the gap between him and the giants, he rammed both blades into said giant's stomach, causing him to turn into a column of flame. The remaining five giants roared their displeasure. Three turned on Harry while two started after the young girl who had started to run but quickly tripped in her panic.

Stressed, Harry battled the trio as they fought with flaming balls and their fists. Part of him wished for the days back in his own body when he could just flee from his bullying cousin Dudley and his gang of equally bullying buddies. But then again, at least now he could fight back.

He managed to defeat one of the three, but he knew he couldn't save the girl until he did something drastic. Then the two giants that had gone after the girl started to scream, and the battlers stopped to look.

A snarling cat stood between the pair of giants and the young girl, who looked more defiant than scared now. The cat was somewhat larger than a normal house cat, with a tawny coat that had black spots and vivid gold eyes. Backing up out of terror, the two giants refocused on Harry while the cat rejoined the young girl and started to lick her like she was the cat's kitten.

Accepting that the girl would be safe for now, Harry sliced at the giants, but he was badly outnumbered. So he retreated closer to the lake, trying to find the sea's power within himself as well as the lake. Accessing Percy's watery powers came easier to him now, but like with Riptide, it didn't always feel right. Harry supposed it was because he was a mere mortal rather than a demigod.

But the giants got between him and the lake, throwing their flaming dodgeballs. Their leader roared raucously, and more roars were heard in the near distance. Apparently there was back-up in the vicinity.

Managing to snatch up his backpack, Harry ran over to the wide-eyed girl as he put away his swords- Riptide turned back into a pen and Caledfwlch turned into a ruler. "We need to get out of here!"

"Okay," she went. Harry noted her accent was somewhere between American and British, but that was not important right now. She picked up her cat with one hand while Harry grabbed her free hand, panicking.

"We need to get out of here," he muttered.

"We need to go," the girl said at the same time.

The cat just meowed as a flaming ball landed a yard away from them. As their mutual grip tightened, Harry sensed that their mutual desire to leave fast was causing something to happen. And suddenly they were sucked into a portal just as another flaming dodgeball flew at them.

In a rush of something between a vortex and a racing river they traveled, unable to see anything. If any of them screamed, they didn't hear it. The trio tumbled out of the obelisk in Central Park, crashing into the soft grass. Behind them the portal closed up. Squirming out of the girl's reach, the cat promptly began licking herself.

"Muffin," the girl giggled weakly, remaining on her belly. She looked up at Harry as he got to his feet, already recovering from her initial terror. "I'm Sadie Kane, who are you?"

"Harry Potter," he responded, brushing himself off.

"Hairball!" came a familiar voice as Clarisse La Rue ran over to the pair. "There you are! Will kept bugging me to go to Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park. Guess the arrow head was on to something after all. How was the quest?"

"Had to run from some giants when they tried to eat Sadie here, blood brat," sighed Harry, raking a hand through Percy's jet black hair. Getting out the grey ruler, he grinned, "But I did get a sword that fits."

"Good- wish things were that good at camp," she frowned. "We need to get back there. I think it's time for that quest we talked about going on last summer, Hairball."

"Can Muffin and I come?"

Clarisse and Harry looked down at the girl. Sadie wore a neon green T-shirt and a jean skirt with her sneakers. Clarisse tugged a lock of her messy light brown hair. "I don't think we have a choice. Come on, let's go."


	3. Chapter 3: We Hail the Taxi of Torment

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: We Hail the Taxi of Eternal Torment<strong>

Harry was utterly baffled- what could have happened in the month while he was journeying to and through Scotland that had Clarisse so stressed out? The daughter of Ares did not stress out easily, he knew that much from his year-long friendship with her.

As she kept pace with the other kids, Muffin in her arms, Sadie demanded, "Where are we? This isn't Scotland!"

"No, it's Central Park- wait, Scotland? How long ago were you two in Scotland instead of New York?" the dirty blonde haired girl questioned, using the disguised Maimer as a walking stick. Harry sighed in exasperation. "About five minutes ago but I'm afraid I don't have a clue how we traveled here so fast."

"Freaky," decided Clarisse.

As they left the park behind, Harry wondered, "How did you get here, Clarisse? Did Argus drive you?"

"Nah, I hiked," Clarisse replied, looking around. "I got an Iris message from Annabeth- she's making her way north too. I haven't told her much, but I did confirm that her dreams about bad news at camp are grounded in fact. She said we could meet here at three- I decided to look for monsters in the park and see why I needed to be here. Apparently I needed to find you and Sadie."

"And Muffin."

"The cat is named Muffin?"

"Uh-huh. She was a gift from Dad," Sadie defended Muffin, hugging the cat close to her chest.

"Where's your dad? Back in Scotland?" Harry hoped that he wouldn't end up getting arrested for kidnapping.

"No. He's traveling with Carter. He's an Egyptologist." The eight year carefully sounded out the last word.

"Wait- who's Carter?" questioned Clarisse in bafflement.

"Never mind that," snapped Annabeth, materializing next to Harry as she pulled off her invisibility-inducing baseball cap. The daughter of Athena had curly blonde hair, dark grey eyes, and a proud stance. "We need to- wait, Harry did you rescue a demigod while on your quest?"

"I- I am uncertain," Harry confessed, looking down at Sadie. "So your dad's an Egyptologist; what does your mom do?"

Sadie's lower lip trembled and she hugged Muffin tighter. "She was one too before she died."

"She's not a normal mortal, but apparently she's not a demigod either," Harry mused.

"Okay, focus. Things are getting bad at camp- we need to get back as fast as possible," Clarisse stated. "I can explain more on the way."

"Can I come?"

"We can't leave you in the middle of New York City," Harry commented dryly. "So yes, you're coming along too."

"YAY! Wait- where are we going again?"

"Camp Half Blood," Annabeth answered curtly, digging through her jean jacket pockets for something. "Harry- when did you get back from Scotland?"

"Um, about twenty minutes ago," Harry admitted. Annabeth gave him a look so he defended himself by saying, "I don't know how, okay?"

"I got attacked a lot on my way north-"

"Same here, otherwise I would have gotten here yesterday," Clarisse agreed.

Harry looked at his friends more closely- Clarisse had mud on her jeans and orange camp shirt as well as scrapes and bruises on her arms as well as a developing black eye. Meanwhile Annabeth had twigs and leaves in her hair, a cut on her chin, and slashes on her jeans that looked like claw marks.

"We got attacked by giants!" Sadie chimed in.

"Eh, now that I think about they were only eight feet tall. I think you need to be at least fifteen feet tall to qualify as a real giant."

Sadie nodded pensively. "True, true. So half-giants then?"

"Maybe… they didn't bother introducing themselves. Tall, tattooed, like to use flaming balls?"

"Laistrygonians; they prefer northern areas, so I guess Scotland would suit them. If you can't say that, I like to call them Canadians."

"Offensive to Canada," observed Clarisse. "I like it."

"A-ha!" Annabeth held up a golden drachma. The big gold coin had an image of Zeus on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. "Come on, let's go to someplace quieter. Even with the Mist, we don't want any undue attention."

HPJHPJHPJ

The quartet (plus Muffin) made their way to a quiet alleyway. Clarisse noted, "I doubt taxi drivers take drachmas."

"Drachmas?" echoed Sadie, her blue eyes wide in bafflement. Harry didn't regret dragging her into this, if only because if he hadn't she would be dead right now.

"Shush," Annabeth ordered them. Holding up the gold coin, she proclaimed, _"St__ê__thi, __Ô__ h__á__rma diabol__ê__s!"_

Harry had had a tough time learning ancient Greek, but he caught 'stop, chariot of…'. He looked over at Clarisse as Annabeth threw the gold coin into the street.

"Damnation," smirked the older girl, which caused a bad feeling in Harry's stomach.

The drachma sank through the asphalt, disappearing. Sadie's eyes got even wider. "COOL!"

"We somehow teleported or used a Stargate to travel from Scotland to New York City and you think a coin trick is cool?" questioned Harry.

"Stargate?" went all three girls.

Awkwardly Harry admitted, "There was a marathon of the show on the night the Stoll brothers brought me a mini TV to watch while I had that cold this February."

Before anyone could comment on this revelation, the asphalt where the coin had landed darkened, melting into a rectangular pool the size of a parking space that bubbled with red thick liquid. Then a car burst out of the ooze.

Harry and Sadie jumped in surprise and shock at the car's sudden appearance as well as its physical appearance. It was a gray taxi that looked to have been woven out of smoke. The term 'Gray Sisters' was on the taxi's side. Clarisse's dyslexia made her squint at the words so Harry returned the favor, "Gray Sisters."

"Oh…" The face Clarisse made at this worsened the feeling in Harry's stomach.

The passenger window rolled down so an old woman could stick her head out it in order to speak with them. Her frizzled, gray hair covered her eyes. In an odd voice like she was severely drunk she asked, "Passage, passage?"

"F- five to Camp Half Blood," Annabeth said, amending her statement when Sadie held up Muffin meaningfully.

The head turned to look at Muffin and oddly respectful she said, "Very well. Get in!"

Warily Harry followed Annabeth and Clarisse into the car, Sadie holding Muffin right behind him. Like the outside of the taxi, the interior was smoky grey but seemed to be a good deal more solid than the inside. The seat was kind of uncomfortable and there was no divider between the driver and passengers.

Harry blinked. There were actually three old ladies up front that had the same frizzy mops of hair, bony hands, and charcoal-colored crudely made dresses.

The one behind the wheel crowed prior to slamming down on the accelerator, "Long Island! Out of metro fare bonus! Ha!"

As they zoomed down the street a prerecorded message played over the speaker: _Hi, this is Ganymede, cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I'm out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I always buckle up!_

All of them looked down at the black chains that were the apparent seat belts in this taxi, exchanging looks that said 'not that desperate'.

"Look out! Go right!" screeched the middle lady as they went around a corner. Harry had no idea where they were already, between not really knowing the city and how fast the taxi was going.

"Well, if you'd give me the eye, Tempest, I could **see** that!" snapped the driver.

"Give her the eye?" gulped Sadie nervously. Muffin's fur was starting to poof out in shared concern.

The driver ran over the curb with a jaw-rattling thump to get past a Jeep before zooming onto the next block. The lady on the right complained, "Wasp! Give me the girl's coin! I want to bite it!"

"You bit it last time, Anger!" complained the driver, or Wasp. "It's my turn!"

"Is not!" yelled Anger from the left.

Tempest, the one between them, screeched, "RED LIGHT!"

"Brake!" ordered Anger. Instead of that, Wasp pressed down harder on the accelerator and drove onto the curb, going around a corner at breakneck speed before crashing into a newspaper box. Even that didn't slow her down though.

"Can't you see?" demanded Harry, his stomach in knots.

"No!" went Wasp as she kept driving.

"No!" complained Tempest in the middle.

"Of course!" crowed Anger from the right.

Harry gave Annabeth a death glare. "We're in a taxi driven by two blind people and one with sight?"

"Not exactly. They share one eye."

"Between all three of them- one eye?"

"Yes."

"Blood brat, remind me to challenge bird brain here to a duel once we're at camp." Harry told Clarisse flatly. Brightly Clarisse agreed. "Sure!"

"It's the fastest way to get back to camp," Annabeth insisted. "I couldn't take it from Virginia- it's outside their service area but we can take it from the Big Apple to camp."

"Like a summer camp?" a scared Sadie got out.

"For most of the campers, yeah."

"I've never gone to a summer camp. That sounds like fun," Sadie commented quietly as the three gray kept squabbling furiously, oblivious to their passengers. Under her breath she added, "If we survive this taxi ride."

"Yeah. Anyway, the taxi only services Greater New York and the surrounding area."

Noticing their discussion, Anger noted, "We've had famous people in this cab! Like Jason! You remember him?"

"Don't remind me," wailed Wasp as she swerved onto another street. "And you old bat, we didn't have a cab back then. That was three thousand years ago!"

"Give me the tooth!" Anger demanded, irritated at Wasp. She tried to grab at Wasp's mouth, only for Wasp to swat her hand away.

"Only if Tempest gives me the eye!"

"No!" Tempest screamed. "You had it yesterday!"

"But I'm the one driving, you old hag!"

"Pah! Oh, turn, turn!"

The taxi made the turn, knocking Harry and Sadie's heads together from the whiplash, onto the Williamsburg Bridge. Harry estimated the taxi was going at least sixty miles an hour as they zoomed ahead. That was bad considering how the three sisters were fighting up front- grabbing and slapping one another.

Sickened, Harry saw that two of them had no teeth while Wasp just had one dull yellow incisor. Instead of eyes they had closed, sunken eyelids except for one of Anger's eyes- that one was a hungry, bloodshot green eye. Finally Anger, with the advantage of sight, managed to yank the tooth out of Wasp's mouth. Full of rage, Wasp swerved towards the edge of the bridge, demanding, "'Ivit back! 'Ivit back!"

"Are we going to die?" Sadie got out in her panic.

"Don't worry," said Annabeth, despite sounding pretty worried herself. "The Gray Sisters know what they're doing. They're really very wise."

Clarisse and Harry exchanged resigned looks since this was supposed to be reassuring coming from a daughter of Athena but they remained dubious. It didn't help the taxi was near the edge of a bridge that was over a hundred feet above a river.

"Yes, wise!" agreed a grinning Anger in the rearview mirror to show off her new tooth. "We know things!"

Wasp backed her sister up proudly, "Every street in Manhattan! The capital of Nepal!"

"The location you seek!" added Tempest. This promptly caused Tempest's sisters to start pummeling her, screaming, "Be quiet! Be quiet! They didn't even ask yet!"

"What?" went Annabeth. Clarisse continued, "None of us are seeking any-"

"Nothing!" agreed Tempest. "You're right, girl. It's nothing!"

Clarisse narrowed her eyes and got out Maimer in its laser pointer form. "Tell me."

"NO!" they all screamed.

"The last time we told, it was horrible!" stated Tempest resolutely.

"Eye tossed in a lake," shuddered Anger. Wasp concluded darkly with, "Years to find it again! And speaking of that- give it back!"

"No," went Anger crossly.

"Eye! Gimme!" yelled Wasp, whacking Anger on the back. With a sickening pop something flew out of Anger's face. Anger fumbled for it, trying to get it back, but only managed to bat it with the back of her hand. The slimy orb sailed over her shoulder, into the backseat, and straight into Harry's lap.

His own eyes wide, Harry tenuously picked it up. Crooning, Anger told him, "Nice boy! Give it back!"

Harry made a face and offered it to Clarisse. "You take it. It's gross."

Making a face of her own Clarisse took the eye from him.

"NO!" went the sisters as the taxi hurtled down the bridge towards Brooklyn, shuddering and billowing gray smoke.

"She'll give it back if you explain that location we're going to be seeking," Harry told them. "Right, Clarisse?"

"Right," agreed Clarisse, keeping a tight grip on the eyeball.

"No time!" wailed Tempest. "We're accelerating!"

Looking out the window, Harry saw that everything was indeed blurring by- they were already nearing Long Island. Back pressed against the seat, Annabeth warned them, "They can't find our destination without the eye. We'll just keep accelerating until we break into a million pieces."

"If they tell us the location, I'll give back the eye," Clarisse stated coolly.

"NO!" screamed all three. "Far too dangerous!"

Clarisse eyed the eye. "Hm… I wonder if I could squish it under my combat boot…"

"WAIT!" they yelled. "30, 31, 75, 12!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" protested Harry.

"30, 31, 75, 12," Anger belted out again. "That's all we can tell you. Now give us the eye! Almost to camp!"

The taxi was off the highway, roaring through the countryside at an unbelievable speed. Half-Blood Hill was in sight, with Thalia's tree at its top.

"Clarisse! Give them the stupid eye!" Annabeth ranted.

With an eye roll Clarisse tossed the eye into Wasp's lap, who promptly snatched it up and pushed it into her eye socket.

"Whoa!" she yelled, slamming on the brakes. The taxi spun around several times in a cloud of smoke before squealing to a halt in the middle of the dirt road at the base of Half-Blood Hill.

"Let's go," Clarisse commanded, eying the hill. Nodding her agreement, Annabeth opened the taxi door. "We have to get out."

Looking at the hill, Harry realized the problem. Near the tree was an ongoing battle between some monsters and some campers. Hastily they got out of the taxi, which hurriedly raced back to New York City.


	4. Chapter 4: Sadie Plays with Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Why do I capitalize Hairball? I am not sure. Maybe it's because he's the main/title character?

Also, I googled 'Caledfwlch' and it's apparently the old name for Excalibur (sometimes the sword in the stone). Cool- Jenny Nimmo knows her stuff.

Edited by Mellie Erdmann, who has to put up with me typically sending these almost literally a minute after finishing writing them...

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: Sadie Plays with Fire<strong>

Harry was feeling a bit of déjà vu from his first time at camp. On his first time on this very hill he had confronted the Minotaur in the pouring rain, finally defeating it. Now there were two bronze elephant-sized bulls breathing fire there.

Ten demigods in battle armor were fighting against them, five for each bull. The bulls were ranging all about the hill, even around the back of the hill. Harry knew that should be impossible due to the camp's magic boundaries keeping out monsters until called for. And somehow Harry doubted anyone would have been stupid enough to call up two bronze bulls.

"That's the problem," Clarisse said grimly, getting Maimer out in its full electric spear glory. Annabeth in a small voice went, "Oh."

"Border patrol to me!" came a strident voice that Harry recognized as the Hephaestus cabin counselor Charlie Beckendorf.

"I switched around my cabin's patrol times so they wouldn't have to face anything without me."

"Arrogant much?" sniffed Annabeth. Clarisse glared at her. "I meant they shouldn't have to."

The campers scattered as the bulls charged at them, large patches of grass burning around the pine tree. Two campers were running around in circles, the horsehair plumes on their helmets burning.

Annabeth got out her dagger, and Harry got out both swords. Annabeth looked at him askance. "You could barely manage fighting with one sword and now you want to try with two?"

"He did it against those Canadians," Sadie defended him.

"Less talking, more fighting," Clarisse commanded them, dashing up the hill, Annabeth right behind her.

"Stay here," Harry ordered Sadie before following the two girls.

The young girl made a face but stayed put, placing Muffin down on the grass. The tawny and black cat immediately started chasing a butterfly.

"Those are rogue Colchis bulls- made by Hephaestus himself. Get hit by their fire straight on and you die," Annabeth warned. Clarisse noted, "So avoid the flames, basically?"

"Basically."

"Get into-" Clarisse cut herself off in disgust, seeing half the campers were useless due to freaking out over their helmets being on fire. Besides, they were only half way up the hill and the campers probably wouldn't have heard them anyway. Actually, there was a chance they hadn't even been seen yet.

For being so big, the bulls moved light on their hooves. Their metal hides gleamed in the sunlight, with fist sized rubies for eyes and silver horns. Whenever they opened their mouths, white hot fire came out their mouths.

"Blimey," gulped Harry.

At the hilltop, Annabeth taunted one of the bulls into chasing her but then turned invisible, utterly confusing it. Meanwhile Clarisse and Harry tried to gain up on the other bull but with avoiding its fire breath they couldn't get in close. Even getting within a few feet of them caused the pair to flinch from the heat coming from the bull's skin.

One bull crashed into Beckendorf's shield, sending him flying. The bull fire-breathed on some campers' shields, melting them right off their arms. As it wheeled around, the bull charged at the fallen camper so Clarisse yanked him out of the bull's way.

As it passed by, Harry gave it twin slashes with his swords on his flank but besides a few creaks the blows seemed to have done nothing. Hauling Beckendorf up, Clarisse told him, "Go get some Apollo campers! Archers are kind of lame except when you can't get close to the target- like in this scenario! GO!"

"I'm not leaving my campers," Beckendorf snapped. Then he turned his head and barked at one of the few non-flaming campers left, "Mason, go get some Apollo campers!"

With a brisk nod, Jake Mason took off. The trio of cabin counselors backed onto the camp side of the hill. Annabeth was messing with the other bull's head. But then it lost interest again, opting to charge down at Sadie.

"SADIE!" yelled Harry in panic. "Oh gods, I'm the reason she's here! If anything happens to her-"

Muffin froze and started to run towards the bull, fangs bared. But Sadie held out her hands and cried out, "HA-DI!"

The bull exploded halfway down the hill into a burst of flame and metal bits. Everyone flattened themselves against the grass to avoid being hit by shrapnel. Peeking up, Harry saw Sadie had collapsed, lying motionless at the hill's base. Muffin had rejoined her mistress, frantically pawing at her.

Even more enraged, the other bull turned on the cabin counselors, Annabeth joining them.

Clarisse ran Maimer into its bad leg, stopping the bull in its tracks. Harry sliced its head off with Riptide before shrinking the sword into a pen. Before putting it in his jeans pocket he told it, "Sorry, Riptide. But you're not meant for me."

"You're talking to a pen?" went Annabeth. Pulling Maimer out of the broken down bull, Clarisse shrugged, "I talk to Maimer all the time."

"You two have issues."

"We're demigods," chorused the two, making Beckendorf smile.

Mason ran up, followed by a pair of Apollo campers. Maimer in hand, Clarisse stalked up to them. "If Hairball, bird brain, and I hadn't shown up some of these Hephaestus campers could have been hurt!"

One camper ran by screaming, her helmet on fire. Clarisse amended. "More hurt."

While Clarisse continued her lecture to the petrified campers, Harry made his way down the hill to Sadie. The girl was still motionless but still evidently breathing. Muffin mewled when Harry tried to pick her up.

"I'll help," said Annabeth, coming in to prop up Sadie's other side. Together they made their way up the hill, Muffin intertwining between their legs.

At the hill's crest the blonde said, "I, Annabeth Chase, give Sadie Kane permission to enter camp!" just as they entered Camp Half-Blood.

"What was that for?" wondered Harry.

"A precaution," Annabeth said grimly as they started down the other side of the hill. Behind them Muffin let out a lonely wail. Bemused, Annabeth said, "Okay, I Annabeth Chase also give you permission to enter camp."

Tail held high, Muffin stalked in front of them.

Slapping the pair of Apollo campers upside the head, Clarisse stalked over to them. "Come on, we need to let Tantalus know what happened."

"Tantalus?" went Annabeth and Harry.

"That's another of the changes that happened while you two were gone. Chiron and Argus were both fired."

"What?" went Annabeth. Harry looked at Clarisse, at a loss. "How did that happen?"

"Chiron has been training heroes to fight monsters for over 3000 years," snapped Annabeth. "How can he just be gone?"

Clarisse stomped up to her, snarling, "I'm not happy about this either, so don't whine at me, bird brain."

"I just don't understand," frowned Annabeth, standing her ground. Considering how last summer they had seen Clarisse battle her father, the god Ares, Harry was impressed. Then again, maybe she just didn't want to drop Sadie.

"Look," growled Clarisse, pointing at Thalia's tree. So the two looked, really looked, at Thalia's tree for the first time since their arrival.

Everyone at camp knew the story behind the tree:

_**Six years ago, Grover, Annabeth, and two other demigods named Thalia and Luke had come to Camp Half-Blood chased by an army of monsters. When they got cornered on top of the hill, Thalia, a daughter of Zeus, had made her last stand there to give her friends time to reach safety. As she was drying, her father Zeus took pity on her and changed her into a pine tree. Her spirit had reinforced the magic borders of the camp, protecting it from monsters. The pine had been there ever since, strong and healthy.**_

But that had changed: its needles had turned yellow, with a pile of dead ones at its base, and in the trunk, three feet from the ground, was a puncture mark the size of a bullet hole that oozed green sap. Thalia's tree was dying, and with it the camp's magical borders, because someone had poisoned it.


	5. Chapter 5: I Get a New Cabin Mate

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Hey, a fourth of the way done! Sweet.

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

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><p><strong>Chapter Five: I Get a New Cabin Mate<strong>

Annabeth and Harry had carried Sadie down to Cabin Three where Harry stayed as a proxy son of Poseidon. A lot had changed in the month or so while Harry was gone, which made Camp Half-Blood feel less like Camp Half-Blood.

Yet on the surface things looked pretty much the same: the Big House looked the same with its blue gabled roof and wraparound porch; the same white-columned Greek buildings were sprinkled around the valley; the strawberry fields still all but glowed in the sun; and the twelve cabins, all unique and representing a different Olympian, were between the woods and the creek.

But now campers and satyrs were stockpiling weapons instead of playing volleyball. Dryads armed with bows and arrows skirted the edge of the woods warily. The meadow's grass was a sickly yellow-green, the forest looked limp, and smoke still rose from the scorched parts of Half-Blood Hill. And no one stopped to talk, instead carrying on their duties.

In short, the poison in Thalia's tree had affected every aspect of camp.

"I never should have left," Harry frowned guiltily.

"Hairball, it still would have happened if you had been here or not. Besides, that's the past, it's the future we got to worry about now," Clarisse told them as she joined the duo. "How's the girl holding up?"

"Still out of it," sighed Annabeth, shifting her weight. Clarisse told them, "Let's drop off Sadie fast because Chiron is leaving today."

"So he's still here?" Annabeth's voice broke. Feeling like he had experienced something similar Harry told her, "Go talk to him. Clarisse and I can take it from here."

"Thanks, Harry." And Annabeth ran off to the Big House once Clarisse had gotten ahold of Sadie.

The two made their way to cabin three, a low gray building. Without either of them touching it, the door opened. Clarisse raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, that's new," Harry admitted as they made their way into the cabin. They laid Sadie down onto a spare bed, Muffin hopping up to join her.

"Okay, she could be a daughter of Hecate. That was definitely a spell she cast on the bull to make it explode. Never heard of a child of Hecate fainting after using magic though…"

"She's probably between seven and nine. That could be part of it," suggested Harry as he pulled off her Velcro sneakers. "But until we know for sure… no ambrosia or nectar. It could make her burn up if she's mortal."

Muffin mewed her agreement.

"Okay, that cat is weird," Clarisse grumbled, kicking off her combat boots. After a few minutes of companionable silence she inquired, "So you got a new sword?"

"Yeah," nodded Harry. "I got it from a lake in Scotland- Caledfwlch."

He got out the ruler, and with a thought it resumed its true form. Narrowing her eyes at it, Clarisse told Harry, "That's not a normal sword."

"Well, yeah. It works on monsters and therefore hopefully not on mortals."

Clarisse was about to reply when there was a faint peal of thunder. The two shared a bemused look- either someone had sworn on the River Styx or someone had slipped up and had mentioned a monster's name. Then the daughter of Ares made her response. "No- I meant it's not celestial bronze or Stygian iron."

"Stygian iron?" Harry hadn't heard of that before. "Like iron from the River Styx?"

"Yeah- usually children from Underworld deities prefer weapons made from it," Clarisse nodded. "But that's… I want to say it's iron but it's not Stygian. Scotland, huh? It's been centuries since Camp Half-Blood was anywhere near there…"

"Look, what matters is that it feels right to me. I'll probably give Riptide back to Chiron or something."

Just then Chiron and Annabeth appeared in the doorway. Tiredly Chiron said, "Did you speak my name, Harry?"

"Yes, here's Riptide, sir," Harry told him, holding out the bronze pen in his left hand. "I got another sword. This one is for the real Percy anyway."

Chiron entered the cabin, ducking his head through the doorway, to take the pen. "Thank you, Harry. I came to say farewell and to warn you three not to do anything rash."

"Honestly, sir, acting rash last summer saved everyone's butts so… I doubt it," Clarisse shrugged. Harry wanted to glare at her, but since he couldn't argue with that, he didn't.

"The tree has only a few weeks of life left unless… but that would be impossible."

Harry raised his eyebrows at the centaur. "Ahem."

Chiron chuckled. "There is impossible and then there is _impossible_, Harry. Take care, you three."

"What about Sadie?" Annabeth nodded at the unconscious girl.

Chiron approached cautiously. "One of her kind has not visited the camp in centuries… how strange that she should arrive now. All she needs is sleep."

Muffin mewed self-importantly. Chiron eyed the cat respectfully. "Indeed. It is an honor to have you here. But now I must go; perhaps I shall visit my relatives in the Everglades. Farewell."

And the centaur left the cabin, Annabeth trying not to cry. Once he was gone she said, "Zeus blames Chiron for this."

"So wait- Zeus is just trying to find someone to blame for what went wrong instead of actually trying to find the real culprit? Huh, I wonder why that seems familiar," snorted Clarisse.

"This has to be Kronos- I doubt this world is harsh enough to give the camp two such vicious enemies," Harry frowned. The Titan lord had attempted to cause mass chaos last summer by stealing Zeus' lightning bolt and Hades' helm of darkness. "But no, Zeus refuses to discuss the matter. We have to do something."

In the distance the conch shell blew. Clarisse ran a hand through her limpid hair. "Come on, chow time."

HPJHPJHPJ

The sun was low in the sky as the cabins came up from the cabins to go to the dining pavilion. Annabeth and Clarisse left to join their half-siblings, but Harry ate alone. All of Athena's children had blonde hair and grey eyes while all of Ares' children were bulky and tough. The other cabins shared predominant traits as well, all the children noticeably having something in common with their godly parent.

Harry fingered the single bead on his necklace as he stood his seat at Poseidon's table. The satyrs sat down at Dionysus' table since he only had a pair of twins and satyrs were under his domain anyway. Grover Underwood, Percy's friend, wasn't among them. He had found and brought a camper to camp late last year, gaining his searcher's license. So he and the poodle Gladiola had gone off together to find the god of wilderness, Pan.

From the head table came Dionysus' drawl as the wine god noticed Harry. "Well, well, if it isn't Larry Baker. My millennium is complete."

Aggravated, Harry got up and approached the camp director.

"My name is Harry Potter," Harry reminded him curtly, despite knowing the god messed up the campers' names on purpose. Remembering that Mr. D. could blast him into oblivion with a thought he added, "Sir."

Sipping his Diet Coke, Mr. D. stated, "Yes, well, as you young people say these days- _Whatever_."

The wine god had been banished to oversee Camp Half-Blood for a century. The pudgy, rubicund man wore a leopard-pattern Hawaiian shirt, purple walking short, and tennis shoes with black socks. From behind him an anxiety-ridden satyr was peeling grapes and feeding them to Mr. D. one at a time.

Next to him was someone Harry presumed to be Tantalus, which sounded familiar but he couldn't place the name. He was pale, scrawny, looked sleep-deprived, and had grey hair as messy as Harry's true hair. Weirdly, he wore an orange prisoner's jumpsuit with the number 0001 woven over his pocket. Tantalus stared at Harry; his eyes looked frustrated and hungry.

Casually Mr. D. told him, "This boy, you need to watch. Poseidon's proxy child, you know."

"Ah! That one." Tantalus' voice made it evident that Harry had been discussed about by them beforehand. With an icy smile he told Harry, "I am Tantalus. On special assignment here until, well, until my Lord Dionysus decides otherwise. And you, Harry Potter, I do expect you to refrain from causing any more trouble."

"Trouble?" echoed Harry in bafflement.

"Yes, trouble," Tantalus informed him. "You caused plenty of it last summer, I understand."

Barely keeping his mouth shut, Harry turned his back on the pair to retake his seat at Poseidon's table, clenching his fists. Trouble found him, not the other way around. When a nymph brought him some olive and pepperoni pizza, he nodded his thanks. Opening up his hands, Harry saw his fingernails had dug into his palms deep enough to draw blood.

"Great," he sighed. He yanked off the crust from a pizza slice before heading up to the brazier. He made his prayer as he tossed in the pizza crust. "Poseidon, accept my offering."

Mentally he added, _"And help Sadie find a place to belong like you did with me."_

Harry went back to his seat to eat his dinner. Everything had changed for the worse in his absence, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he could have done something about it if he had stayed.

HPJHPJHPJ

After dinner Tantalus had a satyr blow the conch horn to silence everyone so he could make the after-dinner announcements.

"Yes, well," Tantalus began. "Another fine meal! Or so I am told."

His hand edged towards his still-full dinner plate which promptly scooted away out of reach. Irritably he continued, "And here on my first day of authority, I'd like to say what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here. Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture, er, interact with each and every one of you children. You all look good enough to eat!"

Harry didn't like the wan expression most of Athena's children got at that last sentence, not at all. Mr. D. clapped politely, causing a few of the satyrs to clap as well. With a crooked smile Tantalus said, "And now some changes! We are reinstating the chariot races!"

A wide range of emotions became evident- fear, disbelief, excitement, or in Harry's case confusion.

Raising his voice, Tantalus continued, "Now I know that these races were discontinued some years ago due to, ah, technical problems."

"Three deaths and twenty-six mutilations," an Apollo camper called out.

Waving that off, Tantalus said, "Yes, yes. But I know that you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition. Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month. Teams may register in the morning. The first race will be held in three days' time. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses. Oh, and did I mention, the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?"

Everyone got excited over that- no KP or stable cleaning at all? That would be excellent. But then a warily nervous Clarisse stood up and spoke up. "But, sir! What about patrol duty? I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots-"

"Ah, the hero of the day," exclaimed Tantalus. "Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls."

"I helped, sir," she replied, her tone frigid.

Tantalus chose to switch tactics and ignore her. "And now, we proceed to the campfire and sing-along!"

Everyone was too disoriented to focus on songs and smores, so Harry snuck off early to his cabin. To his surprise, the Stoll brothers and Annabeth were already there.

After Luke's betrayal last summer, the Stoll brothers Conner and Travis had been promoted to co-counselors for the Hermes cabin.

"Hey," went Harry. "Is Sadie up yet?"

"Not yet, but I think she will be soon," Annabeth replied, taking the younger girl's pulse. "She was brave this afternoon. Could she be a demigod…? I mean, Chiron didn't say she wasn't…"

"Clarisse and I didn't risk any ambrosia or nectar," acknowledged Harry. "And something in the way Chiron said that someone like her hadn't been here in centuries does not sound like she's a demigod, even of a god who rarely bears half-bloods. Conner, Travis, how are things going? I'm sorry I left, if I had known that this was coming I never would have-"

"Did you get a sword that works?" asked Conner.

"Yes…"

"Then that's all that matters," shrugged Travis. "Besides, none of us saw this coming…"

Annabeth's lower lip trembled. "Luke's gone, Chiron's gone, and soon Thalia will be gone too…"

"I'm sorry, Annabeth."

Thankfully Sadie chose that moment to wake up. Groggily she asked, "What happened?"

"You did something that destroyed one of the bulls but also knocked you out for a few hours," Harry told her. "We're not sure what you did- do you know?"

"Um, when Carter and I got mad at each other during my sixth birthday party the cake blew up. Does that count?"

"Nice," nodded the Stoll brothers in approval. Harry eyed them. "You two sure you're not twins?"

"YES!" they chorused.

"If you say so," mumbled Harry. Out loud he said, "For now, Sadie, you can be my cabin mate. We can explain things to Mr. D. and to you in the morning. You look like you still need some sleep."

Sadie nodded. Harry got out a blue-grey blanket and covered her up as Sadie went back to sleep, Muffin curling up on her stomach.

Seriously Travis said, "We're glad you're back, Harry."

"Yeah, time for another hectic summer," agreed Conner.

Getting out her invisibility cap, Annabeth told them, "Be on your guard. Tantalus was in the Fields of Punishment mostly for trying to feed his son's cooked meat to the Olympians."

The boys all paled. Annabeth nodded curtly. "So yeah, this is going to be rough with Tantalus in Chiron's place. Don't let him get to you- that's what he wants."

Putting on her cap, she snuck out invisibly. Harry shook his head, still impressed by the cap even after seeing it be used countless times over the past year. "I want something like that."

"Us too," sighed the Stoll brothers dreamily before they snuck out in a more 'normal' way. Getting ready for bed, Harry had to admit that with Sadie and Muffin there the cabin felt a little less lonely.


	6. Chapter 6: Demon Pigeons Attack

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Don't forget to check out "Percy Jackson and the Chamber of Secrets"! For real, that's not an April Fool's Day joke, go check it out.

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

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><p><strong>Chapter Six: Demon Pigeons Attack<strong>

Luckily Mr. D. and Tantalus had been 'meh' about Sadie's inclusion in Cabin Three, so the eight-year-old was put into camp clothes and given a schedule. Harry was concerned about why they had been accepting about the situation, he didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Sadie did have to write a letter to her grandparents in England, though, so that they didn't worry about her.

However he had a sneaking feeling it was because they didn't know what to make or do about Sadie. And Tantalus acted almost scared around Muffin while Mr. D. was actually sort of respectful. Muffin was apparently not just an ordinary cat, despite Sadie's insistence that Muffin was 'just' a gift from her father.

So Harry kept an eye on Sadie as they went through camp activities. The young girl was excited about the whole 'gods are real' thing and it was nice hanging out with another not-quite demigod. Well, really someone who was between the world of the Greek gods and some other world like Harry was.

Nearly everyone was pumped about the upcoming chariot races. Annabeth had teamed up with her half-brother Malcolm for the chariot races, and Clarisse had one of her half-sisters helping her. Of course the Stoll brothers were going to be a team. But Harry didn't feel particularly keen on entering, and since it wasn't mandatory he could get away with it despite Mr. D.'s evident annoyance.

Meanwhile, Thalia's tree was just getting sicker and that worried Harry. But until he or one of his friends came up with an idea, he was stuck at camp waiting for the chariot races to start.

HPJHPJHPJ

One morning Harry and Sadie joined Annabeth and Clarisse in the sword fighting arena. The two girls were duking it out, staying in practice with swords despite them not being their preferred weapons. Harry set Sadie on a few practices with a wooden training sword before he started to hack and slash at some training dummies, getting used to having a sword that actually fit him.

"Hey, Hairball. Didn't you say that I needed to remind you to duel bird brain at some point for pulling that taxi stunt without warning?" Clarisse called out during a break before chugging down some water.

Harry smirked. "Oh, yeah. I had almost forgotten- thanks, blood brat."

"No problem," she shrugged.

Annabeth gave Clarisse a death glare. She said, "Come on, Harry. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"You could have warned us beforehand what you were up to," grumbled Harry, stretching. "So at some point we definitely need to have that fight."

"Why not now?" whined Clarisse. "I wanna see you two beat up one another."

"We've been practicing and aren't at full power, Clarisse. Wouldn't it be better for us to fight at full strength?" Annabeth reasoned.

"Stop making so much sense, bird brain."

"Never, blood brat."

Sadie giggled. "You three are funny!"

"Uh-huh. Come on, Sadie. I'll grab a wooden sword and we'll see how good you're getting at swordplay," Harry told the little girl.

It was nice, having someone to protect and care for. It made Harry wish that someone had been around to protect him when he was Sadie's age.

HPJHPJHPJ

A few days later, Harry gave in to Sadie's begging and took her for their first riding lesson on a pegasus. Harry had been avoiding it partly because he knew Zeus didn't like even proxy children of Poseidon flying and because he had a feeling that there were better ways to fly.

Their teacher was Silena Beauregard, the Aphrodite cabin counselor and one of the nicest girls at camp. The pretty teen started the lesson off with a lecture.

"Okay, there's only one winged horse named Pegasus, who still flies free in the skies but over all these centuries he's, ah, sired a lot of children. None of them are as swift or brave as the Pegasus, but they're all named after him."

Harry nodded, a little excited. He thought he would like flying as long as Zeus opted not to blow him out of the sky. Since Poseidon had created the first horses, hopefully winged horses would be a neutral territory between the two highly competitive gods. As for Sadie, she apparently was in that pony loving phase most girls went through and was bouncing up and down in her glee.

Harry could communicate telepathically with equines, which made riding exceedingly easy and quite a bit of fun. Still, despite pegasus riding being a lot of fun, Harry couldn't shake the feeling that, for him, there was a better way of flying.

Meanwhile, Sadie was having the time of her life swooping around on a blue roan pegasus. She was disappointed when they had to leave for lunch. After lunch was swordplay. Sadie trained with a few of the younger demigods while finally Harry had his duel against Annabeth, Clarisse eating kettle corn on the sidelines. It ended with Harry winning to the blonde's aggravation.

Before going on to archery, the campers worked out a border patrol schedule. Tantalus had said it was unneeded, but no one- least of all Annabeth- was going to abandon Thalia and her tree.

Harry was okay, but nothing special, at archery while Sadie got help from an Apollo camper to how to work a bow and arrow. In arts and crafts they made little clay figurines- Harry made a dog and Sadie a cat. They needed to be baked, but tomorrow they would return to paint them. After that came dinner, the two of them eating at the same table.

By now Harry knew enough Greek myths and history to teach Sadie before they went on border patrol. Technically Sadie shouldn't be there, but she and Muffin didn't want to be left behind.

HPJHPJHPJ

The evening before the race, Sadie had begged Harry to braid her hair. Despite insisting he didn't know how, she had just pouted and stared at him with big blue eyes until he had sighed and agreed to do so.

"Yay!" beamed Sadie, handing him a brush before sitting down on her bed. They were already in their pajamas- Harry in an indigo T-shirt and navy blue stretch pants, Sadie in a black cotton nightgown.

Sitting down on Sadie's bed, he started to brush out her blonde hair.

"Harry?"

"Hm?"

"Could you tell me a story?"

"What kind of story?"

Sadie was quiet for a minute. Muffin was cleaning herself on a spare bed. Finally the young girl asked softly, "Your story. Sometimes you just look so sad and out of place. Like me, but worse."

"It's a pretty crazy story, Sadie. You'd probably think I'm crazy."

"I just found out the Greek gods are real, Harry," giggled Sadie. "Right now I'm pretty open-minded."

"Okay." So Harry began telling Sadie his life story from his parents' death in a car crash to the day they had met in Scotland. Despite some parts being hard to talk about or hard to explain Harry wanted to get it all off his chest. It was nearly nine by the time Harry finished, his throat parched. Braiding hair was hard enough that Harry had just about finished that activity as the same time he wrapped up his story. Quietly he told her, "All done."

Turning around, Sadie hugged him. "Poor Harry. At least Gramps and Gran were nice. Kind of strict, but nice. And Dad did fight to keep both of us. He just lost. And- and…"

Sadie's voice cracked. "I remember Mom. I miss her, but at least I have memories of her and even pictures. You never had that."

Harry carefully hugged the girl back. "I'll be okay, Sadie. I've got camp now, and all my friends here."

"Including me?"

"Including you," Harry smiled. "You're kind of like a little cousin to me. A nice cousin, not one like Dudley."

Sadie let out a giggle that quickly turned into a yawn. Hopping off the bed, Harry tugged at one of her pigtails. "Good night, Sadie."

"Good night, Harry."

Harry had just turned off the lights when- "Harry?"

"Yes, Sadie?"

"You're like a nice big cousin to me."

Harry fell asleep with a smile on his face.

HPJHPJHPJ

Harry woke up so suddenly from the knocking at the cabin door that he fell out of bed with a thump. He mumbled, "Ouch…"

"Wha?" went Sadie sleepily. Muffin was stretching, her ears twitching irritably from being awakened so early. Groggily Harry made his way to the door, yanking it open.

A panicked Annabeth, a grey bathrobe over her pajamas, stood barefoot on cabin three's porch. Leaning against the doorframe Harry inquired, "What is it?"

"I have no clue," yawned Clarisse from her seat on the porch railing. She wore an oversized red T-shirt and combat boots. "I also have no clue how she got by our cabin's land mines…"

"Land mines?" mouthed Harry.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, her grey eyes showing a jumble of emotions. "Not the time, Harry. I dreamed about Grover- he got trapped by a monster, and that monster has the only thing that could save Camp Half-Blood!"

"So… save the satyr, save the camp?" asked Clarisse, rubbing at her eyes.

"Basically. We have to get permission for a quest! Let's ask Mr. D. after the chariot races- I trust him more than Tantalus." Annabeth shuddered. "And if we save Grover and Th- the tree, Chiron might be cleared so he'll return. We can do this."

"I like the plan," agreed Harry, fluffing up the back of his hair. "Now can I go back to sleep?"

"This couldn't have waited until morning?" complained Clarisse, hopping down. "See ya, Hairball."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and followed Clarisse off the porch. Tiredly Harry went inside, letting the door close behind him. From her bed a tired Sadie asked, "What was that about?"

"Nothing… yet," Harry told her. "Go back to sleep, Sadie."

"Okay."

Muttering to himself about impatient daughters of Athena, Harry went back to bed, only to dream about flying cars and aggressive trees and eating pomegranates in a colorful kitchen. Those dreams quickly faded once Harry woke up, though.

HPJHPJHPJ

It was a muggy morning as the sun rose up. Fog that felt more like steam hugged the ground, and millions of birds were perched in the woods- fat white and grey pigeons that made metallic screeches instead of cooing.

The Hephaestus campers had tamed the remaining bronze bull and used it to plow a flat, round track between the woods and the archery range within minutes. Stone steps had been placed for everyone not participating. Harry had bought a big bag of saltwater taffy from the camp store a few days ago to share with Sadie while watching the races. Since Mr. D. always woke up late, he wasn't present.

While the teams were assembling, Tantalus made a speech. A dryad had brought him a platter of pastries that kept scurrying away from him whenever he tried to even touch one.

"Right! You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track, twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and a fighter. Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!" The new activities director smiled at the campers as if they were naughty toddlers. "Any killing will result in harsh punishment- no s'mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!"

Chewing on a piece of taffy Sadie asked, "Whose chariots are whose?"

"Okay. Cabins one and two don't have any campers so they don't have chariots. We're cabin three. I guess we could have participated, but you're pretty new to camp so…"

"Which cabin is number four again?"

"Demeter- I think Miranda and George are manning that one. It's the green one with the painted flowers on it. Ares is the blood-red one that Clarisse and her sister will be driving. And it has horse skeletons, which are kind of creepy."

"Yeah…"

"Cabin six is Athena, with Annabeth and Malcolm. It's the aerodynamic grey one. Cabin seven is Apollo- it's the golden one. I'm not sure who's driving it. Cabin eight, Artemis, doesn't have any campers."

"Cabins one and two are Zeus and Hera, right?"

"Right," nodded Harry, getting out another piece of taffy. It wasn't treacle, but it wasn't half bad. "Cabin nine is Hephaestus. Beckendorf probably tricked it out with all sorts of, well, tricks. Cabin 10 is Aphrodite, but like us they didn't enter a chariot. Cabin eleven is Hermes. It's the green, beat-up one."

"But the Stoll brothers are driving, so do not underestimate it," the girl pointed out. Harry tugged playfully at one of her braids. "Exactly. Now, let's see… whose cabin is number twelve again?"

"Mr. D., or Dionysus. Castor and Pollux entered the dark purple chariot with black horses since they're twins and the only Dionysus campers here."

"Yep. Looks like the race is about to begin…" commented Harry, suddenly wishing there was a commentator for the race. In the trees the pigeons were screeching more than ever, everyone trying to ignore them.

The Greek chariots were clearly built with speed in mind opposed to safety or comfort. As they lined up, more pigeons showed up in the trees making such a racket that they couldn't be ignored anymore. Quite a few campers kept looking over at them, but Tantalus seemed oblivious to their presence. He didn't seem to notice or care he had to speak up to be heard.

"Charioteers! Attend your mark!" When he waved his hand, the starting signal dropped. All seven chariots started with hooves pounding to cheers from the spectators.

Quickly the Hermes chariot overturned the Apollo chariot, the riders being thrown free. Connor and Travis laughed until the panicked Apollo chariot's horses ran into their chariot, flipping it over. All four horses were freaking out and the Hermes chariot fell completely apart.

Sadie muffled a giggle, and Harry tilted his head. "That's an… interesting start to the race, huh, Sadie?"

Annabeth's chariot was in the lead, with Clarisse's in second and Beckendorf's in third.

The chariots were halfway around the track when Harry got a really, really bad feeling. Turning around, he gulped. The pigeons had flown up and spiraling towards the track like a tornado of birds. Standing up, Harry bit on his lower lip. "That can't be good."

Once close enough, the pigeons started diving at the spectators and chariots, attacking everything in sight. They clawed at any bit of flesh they could reach. It was now clear that they weren't normal birds- their beady eyes were malicious and had razor sharp bronze beaks.

Harry grabbed Sadie's hand and ran out to the halted chariots, Caledfwlch in hand. He swiped at as many as he could but there were too many. Upon reaching Annabeth he shouted, "What are they?"

Stabbing one with her knife, she replied, "Stymphalian birds! They'll strip everyone to bones if we don't drive them away!"

"How do we do that?"

"Heracles used noise- brass bells! He scared them away with the most horrible sound-" Annabeth's eyes widened. "Chiron's Dean Martin collection!"

"What?" went Harry, at a loss. Clarisse dashed up to them, the race forgotten. "Hairball, bird brain- what's the plan?"

"Where's Sadie?" yelped Harry, realizing she was gone. Then he saw her running to the Big House. Annabeth smiled. "Good girl- she can't fight yet so she'll get the music. We'll take on as many birds as we can in the meantime."

"Fight?" grinned Clarisse. Annabeth nodded. "Fight."

The trio hacked and slashed at the screeching birds. Wounded campers ran about at random, the birds clawing at their clothes and pulling out their hair. Tantalus seemed not to care at all, only trying to obtain a pastry from the platter with the occasional call of, "Everything's under control! Not to worry!"

Sadie returned, boom box in hand. At the finish line she set it up and apparently pressed PLAY because the air filled with the sound of violins and guys moaning in Italian. This had immediate effect on the evil pigeons- they started to fly in circles, running into each other. Then they abandoned the track to fly skyward in a huge dark wave.

Annabeth shouted out, "NOW! Archers!"

Hastily the Apollo campers readied their bows and shot at the now-easy targets. Most of them could shoot several perfectly-aimed arrows at once. Within minutes the track was covered in dead birds, the survivors just a distant trail of smoke on the horizons. Only then did Sadie turn off the boom box, wiping at her brow.

Despite having acted as soon as they could, there was a lot of damage done. Nearly all the chariots were destroyed and almost everyone was wounded. But Harry found it kind of stupid that most of the Aphrodite campers were more frazzled over their hairdos being ruined and their clothes having been pooped on.

Tantalus walked over to Annabeth, Clarisse, and Harry with a cold smile. "Time to punish the troublemakers who disrupted this race."

All three flatly went, "What?"


	7. Chapter 7: I Accept Gifts from Strangers

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

I just thought of something… the original Golden Fleece quest featured Jason as the hero, and at the end of the second book Thalia is healed using the Fleece. So could it have been foreshadowing a link between Thalia and a Jason?

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: I Accept Gifts from a Stranger<strong>

The way Tantalus saw it, the Stymphalian birds had been perfectly fine until Clarisse and Annabeth had disturbed them with their bad chariot driving and Harry had gotten onto the track without permission. And of course their bad influence had clearly irreversibly corrupted Sadie. This was so blatantly unfair Clarisse told Tantalus to go moon over a cupcake, which did not help his mood. The activities director sentenced the quartet to kitchen patrol for the entire afternoon.

That meant scrubbing pots and pans in the underground kitchen with the cleaning harpies. The dishes were washed with lava instead of water to get everything extra clean so that they had to wear asbestos gloves and aprons. Back at the track, a rematch was being done with a special banquet featuring fried Stymphalian pigeon being prepared for the winner, which meant lots of extra dishes.

"Fess up, bird brain. What's this thing that could save the camp?" asked Clarisse.

"I'll give you two a hint: what do you get when you skin a ram?"

"Um, a mess?" tried Harry, Sadie nodding her agreement as she made toy boats out of cups and utensils.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "A fleece."

"The Golden Fleece?" went Clarisse before whistling in awe.

Annabeth nodded. "Remember how the Gray Sisters mentioned Jason and knowing the location of the thing we seek. Three thousand years ago, they told him how to find the Golden Fleece. You do know the story of Jason and the Argonauts?"

"I haven't gotten there yet," admitted Harry, scrubbing a pot. Annabeth rolled her eyes at him, "Oh my gods, Hairball! You are so hopeless."

"I know," he mumbled, flushing.

"I didn't mean it like- never mind, just listen to me. The story of the Golden Fleece goes like this: there were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa, who were about to get offered up as human sacrifices. They prayed to Zeus to save them, so he sent this magical flying ram with golden wool which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor. Well, it carried Cadmus anyway. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important."

"Wimp," agreed Clarisse.

"Blood brat, behave," sighed Annabeth. "What matters is that when Cadmus got to Colchis he sacrificed the golden ram to the gods and hung the Fleece from a tree in the middle of the kingdom. The Fleece brought prosperity to the land: animals stopped getting sick, farmers had bumper crops, plants grew better in general, plagues never visited, and so on. That's why Jason wanted the Fleece. It can revitalize any land where it's placed. It cures sickness, strengthens nature, cleans up pollution-"

"So it could cure Thalia's tree," Harry commented for clarification.

"And strengthen the borders of Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth agreed.

Clarisse snorted. "But it's been missing for centuries- dozens of heroes have searched for it with no luck."

"But Grover found it because it radiates nature magic like Pan does. We can save him and camp at the same time," Annabeth insisted. Then she bit her lower lip. "It's just a little too perfect…"

"It's probably a trap set by Kronos, just like last summer," Clarisse conceded. "Now, who exactly has the Fleece?"

"Polyphemus, the worst of the Cyclops. The only place his island can be is the Sea of Monsters."

The other three looked at her in confusion.

"Please tell me you're just messing with me. The Sea of Monsters is the same sea that Odysseus, Jason, Aeneas, and all the others sailed through."

"So… the Mediterranean? I'll have to go back to Europe?" Harry groaned.

"No. Well, yes, but no."

"That answer made no sense," Clarisse observed, Harry nodding his agreement. Sadie was playing with her faux toy boats instead of listening to them talk.

Annabeth rubbed her temples before going into lecture mode. "Look, the Sea of Monsters is the sea all heroes sail through on their adventures. It used to be in the Mediterranean, yes. But like everything else in the Greek myths, it shifts locations as the West's center of power shifts."

"Like the entrance to the Underworld being in Los Angeles, and Mount Olympus being above the Empire State Building," Harry guessed.

"Right."

"Okay… but how can even the Mist hide a whole sea full of monsters?" snorted Clarisse. Annabeth glared at her. "You at least should know better. But yes, the mortals do notice even if they don't understand. Now the Sea of Monsters is off the East Coast of the US, just northeast of Florida. They even have a name for it."

"The Bermuda Triangle," realized Clarisse. Harry racked his brain. "I think I've heard of that…"

"Your relatives made you lead a really sheltered life," noted Clarisse.

"Sheltered?" went Harry in shock.

"You don't know Disney movies or about the Bermuda Triangle. You're totally sheltered."

"Back on track, please," sighed Annabeth. "However, it's still a huge area, searching for one tiny island in monster-infested waters-"

"Hey, I'm in the body of a son of the sea god. That should make things easier, right?"

Her eyebrows drawing together Annabeth pointed out, "We'd have to talk to Tantalus, get approval for a quest. He'll say no."

"Then let's just go," suggested Harry. "Clarisse can visit the Oracle. I went last summer, and Annabeth, you visited once, right?"

"Um, not yet, but I think Clarisse can have this one."

"So we want you to lead this unofficial quest- you up for it, blood brat?" Harry asked. Clarisse thought it over before nodding, a smirk widening across her face. "Sure. Sounds like fun."

HPJHPJHPJ

That night, Harry packed his backpack while everyone else was down at the campfire. His heart was pounding- sure he had snuck out of his locked cupboard on occasion back on Privet Drive but that was usually for food after being locked up without dinner. This was something else entirely, and he wasn't sure why he was so excited about sneaking out of camp to go on an adventure.

"Can Muffin and I come?" asked Sadie hopefully, her hair still in the two braids Harry had done the previous night. He wasn't sure how they had survived the bird attack but he was glad his hard work would last for longer than a day.

"I'm not sure… we'll be in a sea, so it's unlikely Muffin would enjoy it."

"I'd just get in trouble with Tantalus if I stayed behind," Sadie noted, pouting slightly. That convinced Harry. "Okay, Sadie, if you want to come along, pack up."

"Already did so," beamed Sadie, picking up her full backpack. Grabbing a six pack of Coke the Stoll brothers had given him, Harry and Sadie went down to the beach to wait for Annabeth and Clarisse shortly before midnight. Sadie and Muffin settled down for a brief nap while Harry sipped the soda, looking out at the sea lit by a waxing moon.

Remembering longitude and latitude from his elementary school days back when he was just Harry instead of Harry-in-Percy, Harry wondered if those numbers could apply to that and the island's location. He'd have to ask the girls. Sadie shifted in her sleep, making Harry look down at her. He didn't like taking her along, but she had correctly pointed out that she would be subjected to Tantalus' rage if she stayed. Bugger. Harry exhaled heavily as he stared up at the starry constellations- Leo, Canis Major, Sagittarius, and countless more.

Muffin's long ears perked up, which alerted Harry to something being amiss seconds before a male voice broke the midnight silence. "Beautiful, aren't they?"

The speaker was a slender man in a NYC Marathon T-short and orange running shots with black hair sprinkled with grey. His smile was kind of sneaky, reminding Harry of someone. But more importantly Harry had no idea how he had arrived at camp- mortals couldn't get in.

"May I join you? I haven't sat down in ages," he continued as if everything was utterly normal. Harry shrugged. "I guess. It's not my beach."

"Thank you," he smiled. "Oh, and Coca-Cola! May I?"

Sitting down a few feet away from Harry, the man took a can and opened it. Once he took a sip he sighed, "Ah, that hits the spot. Peace and quiet at-"

Then his cell phone rang, making one of Muffin's ears twitch. With a world-weary sigh the jogger took out the cell phone, which was glowing blue to Harry's bemusement. As the man extended the antenna, a pair of tiny green snakes writhed around it. Checking the LCD display, the jogger cursed under his breath before saying out loud, "I have to take this. Just a second…"

Then he went into the phone: "Hello?"

After listening for a minute, the jogger spoke to the person on the other end, telling him/her, "Listen, I know, but- I don't care if he is chained to a rock with vultures pecking at his liver, if he doesn't have a tracking number we can't locate his package… A gift to humanity, great… You know how many of those we deliver? … Oh never mind. Listen, just refer him to Eris in customer service. I gotta go."

Hanging up, he told Harry, "Sorry. The overnight express business is just booming. Now, as I was saying, peace and quiet at last."

"Excuse me, but why are there snakes on your phone?" Harry asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh, don't worry, they don't bite. Say hello, George and Martha."

"_Hello, George and Martha,"_ came a raspy male voice.

"_Don't be sarcastic,"_ a female voice reprimanded the male one.

"_Hello," _Harry greeted them.

That action made the jogger raise his eyebrows as he put away the cell phone as the snakes began arguing. After that he crossed his ankles and stared up at the stars. Reflectively he observed, "Been a long time since I've gotten to relax. Ever since the telegraph- rush, rush, rush. Do you have a favorite constellation?"

"Canis Major," Harry replied promptly, pointing up at the brightest star in the sky. "It has the star Sirius in it, which is my favorite."

"Huh, an unusual choice for an unusual hero- can't say I'm surprised," noted the jogger. "And so, what now?"

Harry froze up, desperately wondering how the jogger knew about his plans to go on a quest for the Golden Fleece. Before he could come up with a reply, Martha's muffled voice was heard: _"I have Demeter on line two."_

The jogger rolled his eyes. "Not now. Tell her to leave a message."

"_She's not going to like that,"_ Martha warned him. _"The last time you put her off, all the flowers in the floral delivery division wilted."_

"Just tell her I'm in a meeting!" he sighed. "Now, Harry, where were we?"

Muffin meowed bemusedly. The jogger looked down at the cat. "Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself, have I?"

Eagerly Martha chimed in with, _"Show, don't tell! I haven't been full-size for months!"_

"_Don't listen to her!"_ griped George. _"She just wants to show off!"_

Taking out his cell phone, the jogger stated, "Original form, please."

Glowing a bright blue, the phone stretched out into a three-foot-long wooden staff with dove wings sprouting out the top. George and Martha, now full-sized green serpents, coiled together around the middle. It was a caduceus, the symbol of Cabin Eleven.

"Oh, you're Hermes," got out Harry, feeling quite silly for having not seen the resemblance to the Stoll brothers and the traitor Luke as well as the rest of their half-siblings before. They all had the same elfin features and mischievous smiles.

"Yes: god of thieves, messengers, and travelers. Now, Harry, you still haven't answered my question. What do you intend to do about Thalia's tree?"

"To break the rules and go find the Golden Fleece with my friends," Harry confessed. "That'll save camp and Grover."

"I had thought as much… you have prankster blood in you, Harry. That much I can tell about your 'real' self. Sometimes young people don't do what they're told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment. How's that for good advice?"

"_You forgot to add that rats are delicious,"_ pointed out George.

"_What does that have to do with the story?"_ sniffed Martha.

"_Nothing. I'm hungry."_

"Don't make me put you two on vibrate again," Hermes warned them. "Martha, the first package."

Opening her mouth until it was nearly a two-foot wide hole, Martha belched out a stainless steel canister. It was an old-fashioned lunch box thermos with a black plastic top whose sides were decorated with red and yellow ancient Greek scenes of Hercules' tasks.

"This is a collector's item from _Hercules Busts Heads_, the first season," Hermes told him. Seeing Harry's disbelieving look, he elaborated, "A great show from back before Hephaestus-TV was all reality programming. Of course- the thermos would be worth much more if I had the whole lunch box-"

"_Or if it hadn't been in Martha's mouth," _George snidely inserted.

"_I'll get you for that!"_ Martha started to chase George around the caduceus.

"Is this for **me**?" Harry asked incredulously. He had gotten some gifts last Christmas, all the cabin counselors had to get the other ones gifts. And last year's birthday gifts were on the tail of him stopping an inter-god war, so of course he was at the front of everyone's minds.

"One of two," Hermes nodded. "Go on, pick it up."

Harry was surprised that it was freezing cold on one side and burning hot on the other side. Fiddling with it, Harry realized the cold side always was the side facing north. "It's a compass!"

Startled, Hermes commented, "Very clever. I never thought of that. But its intended use is a bit more dramatic. Uncap it, and you will release the winds from the four corners of the earth to speed you on your way. When the time comes, only unscrew the lid a tiny bit. The winds are always restless- a bit like me, really. Should all four escape at once… ah, but I'm sure you'll be careful. And now for my second gift. George?"

"_She's touching me,"_ George complained as Martha continued to chase after him.

Hermes looked as if this was not the first time he had heard this sort of thing. "She's always touching you. You're intertwined after all. And if you don't stop that, you'll get knotted again."

The snakes immediately stopped their slithering. George unhinged his jaw to cough up a little plastic bottle filled with chewable vitamins.

Harry tilted his head at the container in the god's hands. "Vitamins?"

"Yes. The lemon flavored ones are Minotaur-shaped, the grape ones are Furies- or are they Hydras? Anyway, these are potent. Don't take one unless you really, really, really need it."

"How will I know that?"

"You'll know, believe me," Hermes snorted. "Nine essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids… basically everything you need to feel like yourself again."

The god tossed Harry the bottle, who barely caught it. Shaking the bottle to hear the vitamins bounce off one another Harry said, "Thank you, Hermes. But why the gifts?"

With a rueful, wistful smile the god told Harry, "Perhaps it's because I hope that you can save many people on this quest, Harry. Not just the campers and Grover."

"Luke?" realized Harry in bewilderment. The god's silence was answer enough. Biting his lower lip, Harry informed him, "He doesn't want saving, Hermes. He betrayed everyone and tried to destroy Western Civilization. I think he hates everyone here and on Mount Olympus."

He showed Hermes the asterisk-shaped faded white scar on his arm. "He tried to kill me multiple times last summer, and by extension the whole of Western Civilization."

Hermes turned his gaze back onto the stars. "Hero, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it. It doesn't matter if they hate you, or embarrass you, or simply don't appreciate your genius for inventing the Internet-"

"Wait, what's that again? A computer thing, right?" Harry's brief encounter with futuristic (to him) technology at Yancy Academy had faded after a year at the nearly technology-less Camp Half-Blood.

"_That was my idea,"_ grumbled Martha. George repeated, _"Rats are delicious!"_

Muffin purred her agreement with George's statement. Harry glanced over at the sleeping Sadie, who looked like she would be waking up soon.

"It was MY idea," Hermes retorted to the caduceus. "I mean the Internet, not the rats. But that's not the point. The point is about family, do you understand?"

"I don't have much experience with family," Harry admitted.

"I'm sure you will someday, and then you'll understand," Hermes told him. Getting up, he brushed the sand off the lower half of his body. "In the meantime I must be going."

"_You have one thousand thirty-eight e-mails to return,"_ George spoke up. _"Not counting the offers for online discount ambrosia."_

"_Plus sixty calls,"_ added Martha.

"And you, Harry, have a shorter deadline than you realize to complete your quest. Your friends should be coming right about… now."

Sure enough, in the distance Harry could hear Clarisse and Annabeth's voices. And Sadie emitted a yawn as she began to wake up. Muffin licked her paw calmly.

With a snap of his fingers, Hermes caused four waterproof yellow duffel bags to materialize. He said, "These will make your voyage a little easier, I hope. And if you ask nicely, I'm sure my uncle with the barnacle beard should be able to help you reach the ship."

"What ship?" went Harry, at a loss.

Hermes pointed out at Long Island Sound. Looking, Harry saw a big cruise ship sailing by, its white and gold lights reflecting against the dark waves. Harry bowed his head a little. "Thank you, Lord Hermes."

"Good night, hero, and dare I say it? May the gods go with you."

The god opened his hand, the caduceus flying into it.

"_Good luck," _Martha told Harry. But George had the final word with: _"Bring me back a rat."_

Then the caduceus shrank back into a cell phone, Hermes slipping it into his pocket. The god jogged off down the beach, quickly disappearing in a shimmer of light. Harry squished his backpack and Hermes' other gifts into one of the duffel bags, his heart pounding in excitement. It was time to go questing.


	8. Chapter 8: We Board the Cruise Ship

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

And at a certain point in this chapter Clarisse needs a hug, but would punch you LIKE A MAN if you tried. Cookies to anyone who caught the reference in the capital letters.

Edited by Mellie Erdmann, who does an excellent job. Thank you!

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight: We Board the <strong>_**Princess Andromeda**_

As soon as she and Annabeth reached Harry and Sadie, Clarisse's first question was "Where did these duffel bags come from?"

"Never mind that for now, we need to get on that cruise ship," Harry told them, hearing the patrol harpies in the distance. Muffin hopped onto one of the duffel bags, her tail held high.

Rubbing her eyes, Sadie sat up. "Time to go?"

"Yes," nodded Annabeth, jamming her backpack into a duffel bag. Clarisse was doing the same with a third one, leaving the one Muffin was on for Sadie. As the young girl packed her stuff, the patrol harpies could be heard getting closer. They had picked up their scent and were out for their blood.

"Time to go," Annabeth stated grimly, pointing out at the cruise ship sailing south. "But how?"

"Hermes said that Poseidon might help if I ask nicely," Harry commented, heading towards the surf.

"Hermes?" Clarisse echoed. Harry nodded. "He's the one who gave the duffel bags and he at least wants us to succeed on this quest. And blood brat, you did visit the Oracle, right?"

"Yeah," nodded Clarisse, but she looked a bit uneasy. "Come on, let's go already."

Harry waded out into the water, breathing heavily. The full importance of what they were about to do was sinking in but it was too late to back out now. Quietly he spoke to the waves. "Um, Poseidon? Hello? My friends and I need your help to get to that ship before the harpies arrive, please?"

The harpies' shrieks grew louder as the waves just kept crashing against the shore. Then four white lines appeared on the surface about two hundred feet out. Moving fast to the shore, the lines burst apart and white stallion heads reared out of the waves.

"Hippocampi," marveled Annabeth. As the creatures pulled themselves onto the sand, Harry took in their odd appearance- white horse fronts with silvery fish back halves with rainbow tail fins.

"Pretty," smiled Sadie, picking up a resigned-looking Muffin. The nearest one whinnied in appreciation and nuzzled Harry.

"Come on," went Clarisse, hefting up her duffel bag. "We need to go."

"THERE!" came a harpy's voice as they gathered up their duffel bags. "Bad children out of the cabins! Snack time for lucky harpies!"

"Yeah, we definitely need to go," Clarisse backed her previous statement up.

Five of them came over the top of the dunes. Harpies were plump yet had pinched faces, with talons and shrunken feathery wings. Harry hadn't had much experience with them, and wanted to keep it that way. Hastily the four each mounted a hippocampus, which promptly started to swim off towards the cruise ship.

The harpies wailed behind them as the hippocampi raced across the water, quickly leaving Camp Half-Blood behind. Harry decided he preferred pegasus flying to hippocampus riding; at least with the former he could be in the air. Soon the cruise ship loomed before them and Harry had to focus on the goal. The ship was easily ten stories tall, with decks covered in balconies and portholes. Its name was painted in black letters just above the bow line, lit up by a spotlight: _Princess Andromeda_.

The masthead was a woman about thirty feet tall in a white Greek chiton. It had been sculpted to look as if chained to the ship's bow. Despite her youth and beauty, complete with flowing dark locks, she looked terrified. Harry had a sneaking feeling he ought to remember her story. Oh well.

"Come on," he whispered as the hippocampi approached a service ladder riveted to the side of the hull. "We can go up that."

"Me first," grinned Clarisse, slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder. Grabbing the bottom rung, she started to climb up. Her hippocampus promptly dove back underwater. Annabeth went next once Clarisse was up a few rungs.

"Sadie, you next," he told the young girl. Muffin mewed and climbed onto Sadie's back, digging in her claws. Wincing, Sadie started up the ladder.

"Thank you, Poseidon," muttered Harry before he went onto the ladder and his hippocampus went underwater to join its companions. The ladder led up to a maintenance deck full of yellow lifeboats. Muffin kept shaking her paws and her tail, clearly annoyed with the bits of water that had gotten on her. Sadie let out a huge yawn.

Looking around, Annabeth said, "Let's sleep here- it's locked and remote. Besides, Sadie looks ready to drop at any moment."

"I'll take first shift," volunteered Harry, getting out Caledfwlch. The three girls each took a lifeboat and fell asleep quickly. Tired himself, Harry started to pace. Hopefully this quest would go more smoothly than last year's, but Harry had a bad feeling it was a vain hope.

HPJHPJHPJ

At some point after midnight Clarisse woke up with a start. Looking over at her Harry asked, "You all right?"

"Just a dark dream," sighed Clarisse, sitting up. "Want me to take over so you can get some sleep?"

"Yes, please," nodded Harry, rubbing at his left eye with his free hand. "I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, yeah," went Clarisse, getting out of the lifeboat. "Get some sleep while you can."

Harry was asleep almost as soon as he laid down. To his displeasure, he found himself at the edge of the enormous pit that was the entrance to Tartarus. Kronos' cold voice rose up from the darkness.

"_If it isn't the young hero,"_ the ancient Titan taunted him. _"On his way to another great victory."_

Harry tried to move, tried to draw Caledfwlch, to no avail. He couldn't move.

Kronos continued, _"Don't let me stop you. Perhaps this time, when you fail, you'll wonder if it's worthwhile slaving for the gods. They haven't even tried to send you home, have they?"_

His laughter filled the cavern. Screwing up his eyes, Harry wanted to wake up before Kronos' words started to make sense. With a jerk, he did wake up.

The sun was shining in his eyes and far away the ship's whistle blew. Sitting up, Harry scrounged out a square of ambrosia to eat for breakfast. Annabeth and Clarisse were already up, but Sadie was still asleep. The eight-year-old was cuddling Muffin. Going over to her, Harry shook her awake.

"Sadie, time to get up."

Yawning, she sat up with her braids at odd angles. "I'm up."

Annabeth tossed her an energy bar. "Eat up."

Using her knife and a lot of creative-sounding ancient Greek curses, Annabeth got the double doors open. Cautiously they started to explore the ship. But nobody paid them much, if any, attention. There were crew members in crisp white uniforms, groups of senior citizens, and even a dad with his three kids that they followed to the swimming pool deck. The pool was ringed by deck chairs, and its water sloshed about as the ship continued to sail south.

The dad told his kids in a monotone, "We are on a cruise. We are having fun."

Their faces blank, the kids agreed, "Yes. We are having a blast. We will swim in the pool."

The family wandered off. A crew member approached their group, saying, "Good morning. We are all enjoying ourselves aboard the Princess Andromeda. Have a nice day."

As he walked away Clarisse stated, "What is with these people? Were they brainwashed or something?"

"Or something," Annabeth agreed, looking around anxiously. "They're all in some kind of trance."

Muffin scampered off to the cafeteria, the demigods and Sadie going after her. In the cafeteria was a grizzly bear sized hellhound with its muzzle buried in scrambled eggs. Next to it was a middle aged couple, seemingly oblivious to the hellhound.

"Ew…" went Sadie.

A serpentine voice came from down the corridor a moment later: "Sssix more joined yesssterday."

Hurriedly they went into the nearest hiding place, the women's room, to avoid being seen. Two beings slithered past the bathroom door, making rough noises against the carpet. A second voice went, "Yesss, he drawsss them. Sssoon we will be ssstrong."

They slithered on into the cafeteria with a cold hissing that sounded a bit like laughter. Seriously Annabeth said, "We have to get out of here."

"But I have to use the bathroom," frowned Sadie. Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Fine, you go while we plan."

Muffin hopped onto the counter while Sadie went into a stall.

"We need to leave this ship- it's full of monsters!" Annabeth insisted. Then came another voice from the hallway that froze them all.

"-only a matter of time. Don't push me, Agrius!"

"Luke," went Annabeth softly, her grey eyes full of pain.

A deep and angry voice growled, "I'm not pushing you! I'm just saying, if this gamble doesn't pay off-"

"It'll pay off," snapped Luke. "They'll take the bait. Now, come, we've got to get to the admiralty suite and check on the casket."

Their voices receded down the corridor.

"Change of plans," said Annabeth firmly. "We need to find out what Luke is up to, and if possible, beat him up and drag him to Mount Olympus in chains."

"While that does sound like fun and I hate to be the voice of reason, that's not in the game plan," frowned Clarisse.

"Luke's probably the reason Thalia's tree is dying in the first place," Harry argued. "Besides, I owe him a fight from when he nearly killed me last summer."

"Fine," sighed Clarisse. "Muffin, guard Sadie. We'll meet you two back here."

Muffin mewed in response.

"Um, Clarisse…" trailed off Annabeth.

"Hey, Muffin is not a normal cat."

"I can hear you guys," came Sadie's voice from the bathroom stall. "I'll wait here."

"Good," nodded Harry. "Let's move."

They kept their duffel bags on their backs as they snuck through the corridors, following the maps at various points to near the admiralty suite. Despite everyone they saw having the same blank expression, the trio hid whenever they saw anyone. As they reached the stairs to deck thirteen, where the admiralty suite was supposed to be, Clarisse and Annabeth heard someone coming and shoved Harry into a supply closet along with themselves.

A pair of guys was coming down the hall; one of them asked, "You see that Aethiopian drakon in the cargo hold?"

"Yeah, it's awesome," laughed the second guy. Clarisse's eyes got wide. Horrified she whispered, "Chris?"

The second guy continued, "I hear they got two more coming. They keep arriving at this rate, oh, man- no contest!"

Their voices faded as they continued down the corridor. Quietly Clarisse said, "I'm going to freaking kill him. Then I'll go down to the Underworld, drag him back to the world of the living so I can kill him again."

Harry racked his mind. "Wasn't that Chris Rodriguez from the Hermes cabin? I thought I didn't see him at camp when I got back…"

"He and Luke were close, back before you know," sighed Annabeth. "I guess he decided to join Luke…"

"I'm going to murder him, I'm going to draw and quarter him, I'm going to water board him, I'm going to chop his moronic head off, I'm going to run Maimer right through his heart, I'm going to bash his brains in with my fists," listed Clarisse in a tense voice, and Harry was confused to see her eyes fill with tears. Girls were confusing.

As they continued down the corridor, the hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Something cold and unpleasant was nearby. Stopping suddenly, Annabeth pointed further ahead. "Look."

There was a glass wall looking down into the multistory canyon in the ship's center. At the bottom was a cluster of stores. One of them was a candy store in front of which a group of monsters had assembled. It included a dozen Laistrygonian giants, two huge hellhounds, and some humanoid females with twin serpent tails instead of legs.

"What are those?" asked Harry.

"Scythian Dracaenae," whispered Annabeth. Clarisse was too busy muttering threats towards Chris under her breath to pay them attention. "Dragon women."

The monsters had formed a semicircle around a young guy in Greek armor. The teen was hacking on a straw dummy wearing an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, stabbing it through the stomach and ripping upward. Straw flew everywhere, making the monsters cheer.

Both Annabeth and Harry stepped away from the window. Harry felt a little like puking while Annabeth's face was ashen.

"I'll gut him with those steel fan thingys, I'll crucify him, I'll drown him in that disgusting perfume Aphrodite's kids are always wearing, I'll-"

"Blood brat," hissed Harry. "Bigger problems right now."

"Right, let's find Luke," Annabeth nodded after a minute, gulping hard.

At the end of the hallway were polished double oak doors. When they were forty feet away Harry hissed, "Right now we're outnumbered and Sadie's back there all alone. We need to leave- it's enough that we know where Luke is and kind of what he's up to."

"But-" began Clarisse. Annabeth conceded, "This is not our quest. Saving Thalia is more important than confronting Luke… for now."

The trio turned and ran back to the bathroom as fast as they could. Sadie was talking to Muffin, the pair sitting on the counter.

"We're leaving," Clarisse said tightly, picking up Muffin. "Let's go."

"How?" frowned Sadie.

"We'll take a lifeboat," suggested Harry. "One from where we slept."

Their nerves wound up, the group made their way safely back to the maintenance deck just as the sirens started to blare and red lights flashed all over the _Princess Andromeda_.

Annabeth muttered something that had Harry covering Sadie's ears. Hastily Annabeth cut loose a lifeboat and they all got in except for Clarisse who was the biggest and strongest. She shoved it over the side, jumping in a split second after that.

They were free falling towards the ocean, and Harry had a bad feeling that it would not be a pleasant landing unless he did something fast.


	9. Chapter 9: Worst Family Reunion Ever

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Yay, it's a triple crossover now in this fic! Hm… what could I bring into "Percy Jackson and the Chamber of Secrets" to even the score…

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine: Sadie Has the Worst Family Reunion Ever<strong>

So they were in a lifeboat plunging down towards the unforgiving Atlantic Ocean, holding onto the boat straps for dear life. Harry looked over at Sadie- thankfully his gaze conveyed his plan to her. Together they screwed up their eyes and focused.

With a tug they popped into that vortex between places, the pressure squeezing them. Harry heard the rush of water and flashes of vibrant colors before they popped ten feet above a basketball court. The boat fell to the asphalt, everyone's eyes bugging out.

Muffin staggered out of the boat as a giant poof of fur, irritably turning and clawing at the boat. As it deflated, the four humans rolled out of the boat as well. Annabeth demanded, "What was that?"

"Um, how Sadie and I got from Scotland to New York City in five minutes?" Harry replied, feeling like he was about to puke. Looking as bad as Harry felt, Clarisse requested, "Let's never do that again, okay?"

Sadie was staring over at the previously sole occupant of the basketball court: a preteen with chocolate-colored skin and clipped black hair in khaki pants and a blue golf shirt. His basketball was still rolling slowly away from when he had dropped it at their appearance. Tilting her head, she blinked several times before asking, "Carter?"

The boy scrunched up his face in bafflement. "Sadie?"

Warily they approached each other, Muffin mewling in resigned disbelief. Clarisse asked, "What's going on _now_?"

"Guys, this is my big brother Carter. Carter, these are my friends Harry, Annabeth, and Clarisse. Harry's the boy, Annabeth's the blonde, and Clarisse is the brunette."

"Um, hi?" went Carter, his brown eyes wide. "What's going on?"

"We keep asking that, no answers yet," Harry responded wearily, flopping down onto the warm asphalt. "So… where are we?"

"The College of William and Mary," responded Carter. Sadie asked, "Dad giving a guest lecture?"

"Yes," nodded Carter. "A colleague asked him to come help with a conference on archeology."

"Really?" asked Annabeth with interest.

Sadie turned to the others, deliberately widening her blue eyes cutely. "Can we please, please, please go say hi to my dad? I only get to see him twice a year anymore…"

"After Mom died, there was a custody battle for Sadie since they said they couldn't handle raising both of us. Dad lost," Carter explained. He eyed the life boat. "Though let's just say you guys came here by boat."

"We need to contact Chiron first," whispered Annabeth. "He ought to know about Luke."

Harry thought it over. "Okay. Clarisse, you go with the Kane siblings. Annabeth and I will call our… mentor, while Muffin will stay with us so she can lead us to you guys."

Muffin licked her shoulder self-importantly. Nodding, Carter started to walk off the court with Clarisse and Sadie right behind him, saying, "We were just in Brooklyn a few days ago… apparently Dad got a letter from England that worried him."

"Huh," went Sadie awkwardly.

Once they were gone Annabeth and Harry found the nearest drinking fountain. Annabeth got the water flowing while Harry reflected some sunlight onto the arc of water to create a rainbow before tossing a drachma into the water and requesting Chiron.

The connection was surprisingly weak, with flashing neon lights and blaring rock music in the background. Annabeth informed him about them leaving camp and the Princess Andromeda, though it wasn't clear how much Chiron heard over the noise.

"Harry, Annabeth, you have to-" Chiron yelled before the rest of his sentence was drowned out by a group of voices whooping crazily.

"What?" went both Harry and Annabeth.

As Chiron ducked a flying plate, he shouted, "Curse my relatives! Annabeth, you shouldn't have let Harry leave camp! But if you do get the Fleece-"

"Yeah, baby! Woo-hoo!" shouted somebody behind Chiron as the music cranked up so much that it blew the hair back from Harry and Annabeth's faces.

"-Miami," could be heard from Chiron. "I'll try to keep watch-"

Then the misty screen shattered like someone had broken it from the other end. After a pause Harry asked, "Well, that can't possibly be a good sign."

Muffin paused her hunt of a butterfly to meow her agreement.

HPJHPJHPJ

The trio found the Kane siblings and Clarisse talking to a tall, imposing man outside of a brick building. The man had skin as dark as Carter's, dressed in a suit, and had a shaved head with a dark goatee. He looked rather concerned.

"Sadie, you shouldn't have left your grandparents like that," he was telling Sadie. Stomping her foot, she protested, "Harry saved my life by taking me to the Big Apple!"

"Then you should have returned as soon as possible," argued her father, crouching down to meet his daughter's gaze. "This is a dangerous path you are embarking upon."

"So?"

"Sadie-"

"Dad!"

"You're too young," Mr. Kane frowned. Carter raised his eyebrows, confused. "So, it's her youth and not the danger that has you worried?"

"My friends need me to help on their quest," Sadie insisted. Muffin meowed seriously. Mr. Kane looked over at the cat. Pensively he rubbed his goatee.

"Very well. But Carter must accompany you. Kanes must stick together…"

"What?" went both Carter and Sadie in disbelief.

Mr. Kane looked from his son to his daughter wistfully. "I would keep you both with me, but the Fausts would use that to claim I kidnapped you even if I contacted them this very moment and I would not see Sadie again until she is eighteen."

Harry hated how much sense that argument made from what Sadie had told him about her grandparents. Apparently this was a scenario where a hopefully temporary separation wouldn't lead to a near-permanent one.

"I guess so…" Sadie made a face. Suddenly she hugged her father. "But I wish I- I could stay with you."

"So do I," sighed Mr. Kane. "Carter, protect your sister for me."

"Yes, Dad."

Mr. Kane reached over to scratch behind Muffin's ear. "And you shall keep an eye on both of them for me?"

Muffin meowed solemnly.

"Thank you. Carter, Sadie, if either of you are in dire need of protection ask Muffin and she will aid you to the best of her abilities."

Exchanging dubious looks, the siblings looked at their father's deadly serious expression and said, "Yes, Dad."

"Good. Now, who are these two?"

"I am Annabeth Chase and this is Harry Potter. I suppose you have already been introduced to Clarisse La Rue?"

"Yes." Mr. Kane looked at their weary expressions. "Come and refresh yourselves at Carter's and mine's hotel room. Carter needs to gather up his belongings in any case."

HPJHPJHPJ

Mr. Kane went to get lunch while the kids rested. Carter was packing up his belongings into a brown suitcase. Sitting down on the edge of one of the beds, Annabeth asked, "Blood brat, you need to tell us your prophecy."

Clarisse slipped off her camo jacket, rubbing at her face with her hands. "You guys won't like it."

"Come on, Clarisse. My prophecy involved failure and betrayal. How bad can it be?" frowned Harry, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Fine. Here it is," sighed Clarisse.

"_Sail the reed boat with a god thought long gone,_

_You shall find what you seek and make it your own,_

_But despair for your life entombed within stone,_

_And fail to guard a friend, and the hero fights alone."_

"See? No betrayal in yours," Harry commented after a minute. Clarisse reached over to smack him upside the head.

"Wait- prophecy? As in from an oracle or a seer?" wondered Carter, ducking his head when the others turned to look at him. Annabeth said, "Yes; before going on quests we go seek a prophecy from the Oracle."

"Quests…" blinked Carter. Sadie commented, "I wish we had brought along the orientation video. It would make explaining this a lot easier."

"No kidding," snorted Clarisse. "But right now we need to focus- the Princess Andromeda brought us nearly halfway down the East Coast, but we need to get to the Sea of Monsters off the Florida shore."

"Sea of Monsters? Why are you guys going to a place called the Sea of Monsters?" asked Carter, gulping.

"Because the Golden Fleece is there- we need it to heal Thalia's tree that protects our borders from monsters," Annabeth gave the shortened version.

"Oh."

Just then Mr. Kane strode into the room, bearing McDonald's bags. "Lunch time."

"Thanks, Mr. Kane," nodded Clarisse. She turned to Annabeth. "I guess we could take the train to Miami."

"Chiron did mention something about Miami when we Iris Messaged him; it was hard to tell with all the noise in the background," acknowledged Harry.

"I believe I can provide transportation to Miami," commented Mr. Kane pensively as he divvied up the good. Everyone else turned to stare him.

Muffin's tail twitched with interest as he continued, "You two are younger than I would like, but it is time for you to learn about your true heritage."

Sadie's shoulders slumped. "This is the worst family reunion ever."

"It's definitely the weirdest at least," muttered her big brother.


	10. Chapter 10: Hitch a Ride with Egyptians

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Hey, the halfway point! YAY! And yesterday's Friday the 13th went fairly well for me- whew.

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten: We Hitch a Ride with Not So Dead Egyptians<strong>

After lunch, Mr. Kane led them down the riverbank. The walk had been long and quiet, the sun nearly to its zenith. Kneeling, Mr. Kane traced a set of hieroglyphs in the mud. Annabeth and the Kane siblings squinted at them, clearly trying to translate them.

A boat woven out of coils of plant fiber, with two unlit torches in the front and a big rudder in the back, materialized in the river just next to the bank. Mr. Kane hopped on, saying, "Come along."

"Okay…" went Harry slowly, boarding the boat. In the middle was a hut made from woven reed mats. Carter and Sadie were right behind him. Sniffing, Muffin leaped on as well to get picked up by Sadie. Exchanging looks, Annabeth and Clarisse got on.

Sitting down, Annabeth asked, "You're an Egyptian magician, aren't you? I thought they were wiped out 2000 years ago…"

"Yes, well, most of the House of Life believes the Greek and Roman gods and heroes faded away after the collapse of the Roman Empire. My brother knows otherwise… but that's Amos."

"Wait, what?" went both Carter and Sadie, taken aback. Then Carter asked, "There's no sail, Dad. How are we going to move the boat?"

Mr. Kane looked very bemused as he walked towards the rudder. "It'll be a demonstration of yours and Sadie's heritage. Everyone either go inside or stand your ground, because the trip will be a bit rough."

Carter made as if to go in, but when no one moved he stayed as well.

The boat lurched forward, moving at an incredible speed. Harry felt a bit dizzy. The landscape blurred before being swallowed up in thick fog. Strange sounds echoed in the dark: slithering, hissing, distant screams, whispering voices that Harry couldn't understand. Then he felt dizzier as the sounds grew louder until suddenly the boat slowed. The noises stopped and the fog melted away to reveal vivid neon lights and pale sand. Harry inhaled the scent of the ocean.

"Where are we?"

"I think Miami," Annabeth chuckled weakly, her grey eyes wide. "What was that?"

"The Duat," explained Mr. Kane, adjusting his suit jacket. "It's rather complex. Rather like the Greek Mist in some regards, but very different in others."

"I know about the Mist- it's what hides monsters' and gods' true selves from mortals," Sadie grinned. Mr. Kane nodded his head at his daughter. "That's correct, Sadie."

Pulling up onto the beach, he said, "I will have to leave you here. You two are stronger together, Carter and Sadie. And I can tell these demigods are powerful as well. All together I'm sure you will succeed on this quest and the ones to follow. This boat should withstand almost anything the Greek mythos can throw at you."

Carter and Sadie nodded nervously. Hugging his children, Mr. Kane asked, "You both have the amulets I gave to you?"

They nodded.

"Good. Keep them on." Mr. Kane then turned to Muffin. "Guard them well, please."

"I'll explain more when you return- right now, it's clear you need to begin your voyage," Mr. Kane promised his children before disembarking the boat. Waving goodbye, he disappeared into the crowd.

"Okay, is anyone going to explain anything?" went Harry. Carter nodded. "My sentiments exactly."

Clarisse checked her wristwatch. "It's barely noon! How did we travel halfway down the country that fast?"

"Weren't you listening?" sighed Annabeth. "We traveled through the Duat- it's what Harry and Sadie have been doing. Well, mostly Sadie apparently."

"I helped," went Harry, wounded.

"Oh, that thing. No wonder I feel a bit off," snorted Clarisse. Harry glared at her. "Hey, it saved our lives leaving the _Princess Andromeda_, blood brat!"

"Still made me wanna puke, and that doesn't happen easily," she argued.

"Uh… explanations, please?" went Carter. "And I think people are starting to stare at us."

Rolling her eyes, Annabeth went to the back of the boat and started steering them parallel to the coast, heading south to the Sea of Monsters. "So the House of Life still exists- maybe even thrives. Fascinating."

"Yeah, maybe we'd find it fascinating too if we knew what it was," Sadie grumbled.

"Oh, right. I only know bits and pieces- much of the data has been either lost or concealed from demigods. Apparently way back the Egyptian magicians formed the House of Life, working with the Egyptian gods. But the readings implied it collapsed after the, well, collapse of Egypt with Cleopatra's defeat. Apparently the House of Life just went into hiding, kind of how we demigods did."

"So, let me get this straight. Both the Greek and Egyptian pantheons exist at the same time in this world?" asked Harry in disbelief.

"So it would seem- the Egyptian perspective and influence is just as valid as the Greek after all. I mean, look at the obelisks, the pyramids, the sphinxes, the fascination with mummies, and of course order versus chaos. Those all came from Egypt!" Annabeth told them.

"Back up the crazy train- er, boat," went Carter as they sailed by the Florida coast. "Are you saying the Egyptian gods are real? And the Greek ones?"

"Carter, we're in the crazy boat, heading to the Sea of Monsters- aka the Bermuda Triangle." Sadie paused. "That makes me want to sing that one Muppet song…

The eight year old started singing. "_Ooh Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take you, Bermuda, Bahama… come on pretty mama_."

Carter just looked at them all strangely.

Harry got out Caledfwlch, reverting it to its true form. "This is my sword, Caledfwlch. I'm… well, to make a long story short, I have the powers of a son of Poseidon."

"I'm a daughter of Ares."

"And I'm a daughter of Athena."

"Well, I guess the Greek gods going around having a bunch of kids makes sense since that's a lot of what they did in the myths," Carter mumbled. There was a distant peal of thunder- apparently someone (Zeus?) was annoyed by that. Then he eyed Annabeth oddly. "Wait- daughter of Athena? Isn't she one of the _virgin_ goddesses?"

Sadie was still singing "Kokomo" under her breath, looking over the side of the boat into the waves, having lost interest in the discussion.

Annabeth sighed. "It's complicated… I and my half-siblings essentially form from the merging of the thoughts of Athena and our respective father."

"Whoa."

"It's pretty weird," agreed Harry, turning Caledfwlch back into a ruler before plopping down on the deck. "So… are we there yet?"

Clarisse snorted. "You'll be able to tell when we reach the entrance of the Sea of Monsters."

"It'll probably be late evening… you all should get some rest now. I can steer. Maybe someone can wake up and take over at some point…?" suggested Annabeth.

"I'm the son of Poseidon; I think I ought to steer; you rest, bird brain."

"Thanks, Hairball."

As the others went into the hut Harry heard Carter ask Sadie, "Bird brain and hairball?"

"Yeah- they have nicknames for one another. Harry is Hairball, Annabeth is bird brain, and Clarisse is blood brat. Maybe I'll get a nickname after this quest!"

"Okay…"

Trusting to his instincts, Harry steered the boat towards the entrance of the Sea of Monsters. The quest was about to begin in earnest.

It was cloudy and nearing sunset when Clarisse emerged from the hut, stretching her arms over her head restlessly.

"How'd you rest?" he asked.

"Not well," Clarisse admitted, rubbing at her face. "Father is still a bit peeved about our battle last summer. Plus he's not too keen on me having so much help on this quest, what with me technically being in charge and all. But it's only fair that you and Annabeth come along since I helped last summer, Sadie and Muffin came because otherwise Tantalus might have eaten them and Carter's coming because Mr. Kane wants someone he knows to keep an eye on his daughter. She is eight and not a demigod."

"But she is a witch," pointed out Harry. "Er, magician."

"Yeah. I need to make a sacrifice to my dad- maybe he'll lend me a cannon to use on the entrance."

"Um, don't we just enter? It's not like it's the Underworld…"

"No. It's worse."

"Well, we're on a rather flammable boat here…"

"I know that, Hairball. But we're going to need a long range weapon to get by them."

Harry didn't know what Clarisse meant by 'them' but she looked pretty serious about the subject.

"Okay, okay. Look through my duffel bag- maybe start up a tiny fire in the vitamin jar cap. Do NOT eat a vitamin or open the thermos at all- it contains winds apparently. Got them both from Hermes."

"Sweet." Clarisse got the vitamin lid cap and placed it on the deck. "Now what?"

"Hm. Put a bit of ambrosia or nectar in there and set it on fire using Maimer?" suggested Harry, watching the horizon for the entrance.

Clarisse did so, muttering under her breath. In the front of the boat, between the two torches, a Civil War era cannon materialized in a poof of golden sparks a minute later.

"Sweetness… Dad came through. Now I just have to earn that coming through. Oh boy."

"Why a Civil War cannon?"

"Because Dad has influence over the losing side of any war."

Harry thought this over. "Why not the winning side?"

"Because the losers owe a debt to him for failing the ideals he stands for," Clarisse explained, looking over the cannon. "Well, we're all set for entering the Sea of Monsters now."

"Yeah," agreed Harry, still keeping an eye out for said entrance. He could feel that it was close.


	11. Chapter 11: Clarisse Blows Up Everything

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: Clarisse Blows Up Everything<strong>

Harry was a tad worried about the diabolical grin on Clarisse's face, but considering it wasn't aimed at him he wasn't seriously worried. The evening sky was grey and gloomy, the air hazy and humid. Squinting, Harry could make out some fuzzy dark splotches in the distance.

"What are those?" he asked.

Distracted by her shiny new cannon, Clarisse didn't hear the question. Harry could tell it would be another hour until they reached the splotches. Louder he asked, "Hey, blood brat, could you wake up the others? We're going to be at the entrance soon!"

"Wha?" went Clarisse, running her hands over the cannon to see in how good of condition it was.

"I think the others need to wake up," Harry repeated. "We're nearly there."

"Oh, yeah." Clarisse turned her head and screamed, "WAKE UP YOU LAZY BUMS!"

"Uh…" blinked Harry.

After a minute Annabeth staggered out of the hut. "What's going on?"

"Clarisse's waking up people skills need improving; she's worse than Aunt Petunia at it," Harry mumbled to himself. Out loud he said, "We're getting close to the Sea of Monsters. Could you wake up the Kanes?"

"Oh, sure," Annabeth nodded, retreating back into the hut. Five minutes later she, Carter, Sadie, and Muffin all exited the hut. Uneasily they waited in silence until the dark splotches came into focus.

To the north was a huge mass of rock- an island with steep cliffs over a hundred feet tall. Roughly a half a mile south of the cliff the other patch of darkness turned out to be a storm brewing. The sky and sea boiled together in a roaring mass.

"A hurricane?" gulped Carter. Annabeth looked like she wanted to agree with Carter's assessment but Clarisse snorted at the comment.

"Not hardly. Charybdis."

"Bless you?" tried Sadie.

Wan, Annabeth said, "This is crazy. Hairball, what were you thinking?"

"Hey, it was Percy's demigod watery instincts that told me to do this," Harry replied wryly. "I'm just listening to them."

"Then Percy is a seaweed brain."

Clarisse rolled her eyes at the blonde girl. "It's the only way into the Sea of Monsters. Straight between Charybdis and her sister Scylla."

She pointed at the cliffs' top on the last word. Harry gulped a bit.

"What do you mean it's the only way?" Sadie questioned. "The ocean is wide open! Just sail around them."

"It doesn't work that way," Clarisse responded. "If I tried to sail around them, they would just appear in my path again. If you want to get into the Sea of Monsters, you HAVE to sail through them."

Annabeth, clutching at straws, said, "What about the Clashing Rocks? That's another gateway. Jason used it."

"Hey, there' not much you can do against rocks. Monsters, on the other hand…" Clarisse patted the cannon.

"Uh, where did that come from?" went Carter.  
>"Ares," Harry told him. "Clarisse burned some ambrosia in a vitamin bottle lid to get it."<p>

Carter looked very, very lost and even Sadie seemed a bit bemused by the explanation. Muffin only yawned.

Running her hands through her messy curls, Annabeth said, "Okay, I dreamed of Grover. He's in deep trouble with the Cyclops, and the Fleece is on the island. If we have to do this, I suppose we have to do it the crazy way."

"Excellent. Harry, set a course for Charybdis."

"Okay," nodded Harry, tilting the rudder expertly. "So… what exactly is Charybdis again?"

Curtly Annabeth lectured, "She sucks in the sea and spits it back out again. Her sister, Scylla, lives in a cave up on those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come down and start eating people off the boat."

Harry looked around at his friends and his acquaintance Carter. "Okay then. Charybdis it is."

"Sweetness." Clarisse said with relish, "Charybdis just sits there at the center of her whirlwind. We're going to steam straight toward her, train the cannon at her, and blow her to Tartarus!"

"I like that plan," beamed Sadie. Carter went, "I don't."

As the reed boat approached the monsters, the sound of Charybdis kept increasing. Her roar reminded Harry of a flushing toilet only a billion times louder. Each time Charybdis inhaled, the boat shuddered and lurched forward. Each time she exhaled, they rose in the water and were buffeted by ten foot waves. Harry supposed only magic was keeping the boat from capsizing or being torn apart.

Annabeth told them, "As near as I can figure, Charybdis takes three minutes to suck up and destroy everything in a half-mile radius. To avoid her, we would have to be right next to Scylla's cliffs."

"Maybe that thermos of wind Hermes gave me could help?" Harry suggested. Everyone looked over at him. Annabeth went, "Wait- did you mention that before?"

"He told me when I was looking for something to use for putting my sacrificial life in- and about the magic vitamins," Clarisse informed her. "No idea if he told you."

"More wind will probably make things worse- but you're in the body of Poseidon's son. Maybe you could try controlling the water?" suggested Annabeth, opting to change the subject as the boat neared the monsters.

"Um, I could try." Harry closed his eyes and tried to focus. But Charybdis was too powerful and noisy; he couldn't get the waves to respond at all. Feeling like a failure Harry opened his eyes and shook his head.

"This is totally going to backfire, blood brat. It's Charybdis," went Annabeth. "This isn't going to work!"

Before Clarisse could retort Charybdis let loose a huge roar, the boat lunching forward and throwing everyone to the deck. They had entered the whirlpool.

"Hairball, get me within firing range!" screamed Clarisse over the raging waves. Focusing his power, Harry got the boat moving towards the focal point of the whirlpool. Charybdis appeared only a few hundred yards away through a swirl of mist and smoke and water. There was a black hunk of coral topped by a fig tree grounding Charybdis to the spot. Just below the waterline laid Charybdis: an enormous mouth with slimy lips and mossy teeth, it had braces made of corroded scummy metal with fish and driftwood and garbage stuck between the bands.

The entire sea around her was being sucked into the void- sharks, schools of fish, and even a giant squid. Harry felt worst about that last one until he realized their boat would be next. Just then Clarisse began firing the cannon. The first shot ricocheted off an incisor; the second disappeared down her gullet; and the third one hit a band and flew back over their heads.

As Clarisse waited for the cannon to magically reload, Harry realized it was hopeless. There was no way she could do enough damage before Charybdis swallowed them.

"Sadie, cup your hands and fill them with sea water!" Carter yelled. Confused, she did so. Meanwhile, Clarisse was shooting the cannon at Charybdis again to little avail.

"I have no idea if this is going to work," admitted Carter as he started to spin the water in his sister's hand. When it was properly swirling, Carter spoke again rapidly as the boat drew closer and closer to mouth of Charybdis. "I name you Charybdis!"

And he smacked Sadie's cupped hands with his free hand, sending the water flying. Just as Charybdis was about to start spitting out everything, she exploded into millions of water drops. As the boat hurried by, Annabeth went, "What in the name of Mount Olympus was THAT!"

"Execration," Carter got out before toppling down. Clarisse grumbled, turning her cannon on Scylla, "You Egyptian magicians are such wimps, collapsing after the least bit of use of your powers."

"Hey! I fainted after blowing up a metal giant bull and Carter blew up Charybdis!" Sadie thought this over. "Hm, maybe Egyptian magic focuses on blowing up stuff. That'd be awesome."

Blasting away at the cliffs housing Scylla, Clarisse conceded, "Okay, if that was true, I'd totally become an Egyptian magician. I'd blow up everything. Starting with Chris."

"Who's-" began Sadie, but she fell silent at Annabeth's and Harry's hasty head shaking. Soon they were past Scylla and an already reforming Charybdis. They had arrived in the Sea of Monsters.


	12. Chapter 12: We Check In to CC's Spa

I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. Bummer.

Part of the problem for this chapter was that I knew canonically Harry has a much better track record with resisting brain washing/enchantments than Percy. Don't worry- he's a lot more reckless/headstrong and prone to reckless sacrifice than Percy, which will be clear soon enough.

Also- I have The Serpent's Shadow: SQUEE!

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: We Check in to CC's Spa and Resort<strong>

The reed boat floated weakly through the waves, clearly battered after its rough entry into the Sea of Monsters. Harry kept steering the boat; Sadie was sitting next to a prone Carter; Clarisse was sulking by her cannon; Annabeth was lost in a slightly damp book; and Muffin stared over the edge at the fish.

In the Sea of Monsters, the water shone greener while the wind carried a hint of a coming storm. Percy's powers told Harry that they were one hundred thirteen nautical miles west by northwest of their destination.

The night clouds obscuring nearly everything, the group was quiet. Annabeth mentioned that if her dream was accurate they had less than twenty four hours to rescue Grover from the Cyclops.

"Just curious- what's with you and Cyclops?" Clarisse asked, leaning back. "You really hate them, don't you, bird brain? Why?"

A spiky green dorsal fin about fifteen feet long curled out of the water on the boat's port side before disappearing back into the waves.

"I don't want to talk about it," Annabeth said curtly. "Let's get some rest- I'll take over for Harry for a while."

"Thanks," Harry nodded as he stretched. "It'd be nice to get some rest…"

As Clarisse continued to needle Annabeth, he went into the boat's hut to get some sleep. When he woke up, it was past dawn and the light was blindingly bright off the waves. Carter had recovered and was munching on an energy bar. Sadie, Clarisse, and Annabeth had already eaten so Harry ate an energy bar and a square of ambrosia.

In the distance was a line of blue and brown; soon they could make out an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of Greek style buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats.

"What's that place?" wondered Sadie.

A strong current was pulling the reed boat towards the island. Warily Annabeth said, "It looks like we're going to find out…"

"So, Carter, what exactly did you do back there?"

"I did an execration spell; Dad told me about them last week… I think it backfired since I didn't know all of Charybdis' s names…"

"Whatever; you blew stuff up so it was sweet," shrugged Clarisse as the boat entered the island's harbor. Carter just looked at the girl oddly before shaking his head as if wondering what his father had gotten him to agree to do. Not that Harry could blame him.

HPJHPJHPJ

"Welcome!" a young lady with a clipboard greeted them as they stepped onto the dock. Her hair was in a ponytail and she wore a crisp blue business suit. Her smile was as if nothing was odd about a group of teens and preteens (plus a cat) exiting an Egyptian reed boat. Looking around, Harry had to admit that their boat wasn't the strangest in the harbor.

There was a navy submarine, a bunch of yachts, some dugout canoes, and even a sailing ship. On the island was a helipad and even a runaway with a few planes nearby. But Harry had to refocus when the lady asked them a question: "Is this your first time with us?"

They just stared at her for a minute. So the lady spoke as she wrote down, "First- time- at- spa. Let's see…"

She studied them critically. "Mm. Herbal wraps for the young ladies to start. And, of course, complete makeovers for the boys."

"What?" went Harry warily, remembering a traumatic haircut Aunt Petunia had given him. Yes, it had somehow been gone in the morning but that had gotten him locked up in the cupboard for days. But the lady was too busy writing on her clipboard to notice.

Looking up with a casual smile she said, "Right! Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."

Exchanging slightly confused looks, the group tried to come to a silent decision. But then Sadie looked over at Muffin. "Um, guys…"

The cat's tail was bushed out and she was edging back towards the boat. The lady stated firmly, "C.C. will want to see you all."

Quietly the group followed inland to the rest of the resort. The others marveled at it: there were white terraces on the mountain; numerous glistening swimming pools; fountains spraying out impossible shapes; and tame animals were sprawled out in various locations. Harry felt concerned that the only guests he could see were young women- no men at all. But he didn't have a clue how to alert the others without inadvertently getting the lady's attention.

The lady led them up a staircase towards the main building, from which there came singing. It was a woman, singing in an ancient language Harry couldn't understand. They entered a big room full of expensive looking white furniture. Two facing walls were covered in mirrors, and there was a large wire pet cage on a table in a corner. Sitting at a vast loom was the singer. She wove colored thread expertly, creating an incredible lifelike scene featuring a waterfall on the tapestry.

Annabeth breathed out, "It's beautiful."

Turning, the woman smiled. Harry had to admit she was beautiful with her long braided brown hair and sharp green eyes. Her black dress seemed to have shapes in it that moved with her. She asked Annabeth, "You appreciate weaving, my dear?"

"Oh, yes, ma'am! My mother is-" Annabeth cut herself off, since going around saying your parent was a Greek deity was usually a bad idea. But Harry could get her fascination as Athena had invented the loom.

"You have good taste, my dear," smiled the woman. "I'm so glad you've come. My name is C.C."

At her words the animals in the corner cage started squealing. Harry thought they must be a sort of small rodent as they introduced themselves to C.C. She looked at him and Carter with slight disapproval, which increased Harry's concerns about this spa.

"Oh, dear," she sighed. "You two do need my help."

Sadie giggled, making Carter glower at his little sister. Harry just asked C.C., "Ma'am?"

C.C. told the lady in the business suit, "Hylla, take the girls on a tour, will you? Show them what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with these young gentlemen."

Sadie's hands went possessively to the braids Harry had done for her. Hurt, Annabeth asked, "But… what's wrong with my hair?"

"My dear," she smiled benevolently. "You are lovely. Really! But you're not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"

"Wasted?" went Clarisse slightly warily.

C.C. looked over at the other girl. "Well, surely you're not happy the way you are! My goodness, there's not a single person who is. But don't worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla will show you all what I mean. You all need to unlock your true selves!"

Annabeth and Clarisse exchanged a look, clearly longing to do just that.

"But what about Carter and Harry?" frowned Sadie.

Giving the pair a sad look, C.C. told her, "Oh, they require my personal attention. They need much more work than you."

Carter's shoulders slumped and Harry felt a little hurt, but his suspicions were far from allayed. Especially since the guinea pigs were squealing like crazy.

"Well…" went Annabeth. "I suppose it couldn't hurt…"

"Right this way, dears," Hylla told them. And they followed her into the waterfall laced gardens of the spa. C.C. took Carter's arm and guided him toward the mirrored wall.

"You see, Carter… to unlock your potential, you'll need serious help. The first step is admitting that you're not happy the way you are. This applies to you as well, Harry."

Harry knew his old appearance sucked- unmanageable hair, big glasses, pasty skin, and a scrawny build. But Percy's body was a good bit better- taller, neater hair, and a year of camp had given him muscles. But on the inside he knew he was far better than Dudley or Luke. However Carter eyed his mussed clothes and face critically; Harry wasn't sure why.

"There, there," C.C. consoled Carter. "How about we try… this."

With a snap of her fingers, a shimmering sky blue curtain rolled down over the mirror. Harry couldn't tell what Carter saw, but he could tell it impressed him.

"Do you want that?" C.C. asked. "Or shall I try a different-"

"That's, that's good," Carter got out. "But how?"

"Oh, it's quite easy," C.C. assured him. "Plenty of fresh fruit, a mild exercise program, and of course… this."

She walked over to the bar and filled a glass with water. Then she ripped open a drink mix packet and poured in some red powder. The mixture began to glow and when the glow faded the drink looked like a strawberry milk shake.

At Harry's impressed look she informed him, "Don't worry, you're next, Harry."

"One of these, substituted for a regular meal," C.C. told Carter. "I guarantee you'll see results immediately."

"How is that possible? Magic?" asked Carter, taking the drink.

With a laugh C.C. replied, "Why question it? I mean, don't you want the perfect you right away?"

"But-" started Harry, however Carter started to chug down the drink eagerly. But moments later the other boy doubled over in obvious pain.

"What did you do to him?" yelled Harry as Carter began to shrink, his clothes falling away. Then he vanished except for panicked squealing.

C.C. reached down and scooped up a white and orange guinea pig. Smugly she stated, "I simply unlocked his true self."

Icily Harry stated, "No you didn't."

He got out Caledfwlch and charged. Holding Carter the guinea pig in one hand C.C. shot a blue beam of magic at him which he deflected with surprising ease.

"How?" frowned C.C. as she tried an orange beam of magic which Harry deflected at the mirror, which started bouncing around everywhere, crashing into the corner cage. Suddenly there were a cluster of half a dozen or so pigs in the corner.

"Miss C.C.?" called Annabeth at that moment, making C.C. mutter under her breath. The demigoddess came in, clad in a sleeveless white silk dress and with makeup on her face. Her blonde hair had been washed, combed, and braided with gold like C.C.'s. Clarisse came in right behind her, the only variation being her dress was red. Finally came Sadie, her gown a rich gold.

Eyeing the guinea pig in C.C.'s hand Sadie gasped, "Carter?"

The mean looking pigs charged at that moment, knocking over C.C. That sent Carter flying. Hurriedly Clarisse got out the bottle of vitamins and tossed them into the mess as C.C. stood up and approached the girls.

"Circe!" realized Annabeth, backing up.

With a laugh Circe said, "You need not worry. I mean you no harm."

"What about them?" smirked Clarisse, pointing. Carter and the pigs had been turned back to people, somehow back in their clothes. In rage the woman raised her hands in preparation to cast a spell so Harry leapt forward, sword in hand.

Recovering from their disorientation, the former guinea pigs stood up. Their leader had a messy black beard and wore messy mismatched clothes and boots while the others wore breeches and stained white shirts while barefoot. He bellowed, "Argh! What's the witch done t'me!"

"No!" moaned Circe.

Brightly Clarisse said, "Hey, you're my half-brother Edward Reach, aren't you?"

"Aye!" went the leader. "Though most call me Blackbeard! And there's the sorceress what captured us, lads. Run her through, and then I mean to find me a big bowl of celery! Argh!"

With a scream, Circe fled, chased by the pirates. Carter got up, shaking his head.

"Well, that was…"

"Stupid?" supplied his sister. Harry was unsure about how to feel about her hair being loose around her shoulders now.

"Come on," said Annabeth. "We have to get away while Circe's distracted."

They ran down the hillside through the terraces, past screaming spa workers and pirates ransacking the resort. Blackbeard's men broke the tiki torches for the luau, threw herbal wraps into the swimming pool, and kicked over tables of sauna towels. At some point Muffin rejoined them, meowing her annoyance.

Upon reaching the docks, they hurried into their reed boat. Harry said, "We need a sail so I can use the wind thermos! Carter, Sadie?"

Carter said, "I know the hieroglyph for cloth but I don't think I can make it work…"

"Show it to me and I'll try," stated Sadie. So Carter grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil from his briefcase and hastily sketched a design on them. The hieroglyph flickered but nothing else happened. Sadie quickly took the pencil and copied the design- a billowing white cloth bloomed out of the paper. Clarisse stuck Maimer into the front and the Kane siblings attached the cloth to it. By now Harry had gotten out the thermos and tweaked it slightly open. A steady burst of wind came out, propelling the boat forward and far away from Circe's island.

* * *

><p><span>Next time… it's the sirens. Uh-oh.<span>


	13. Chapter 13: Annabeth Tries to Swim Home

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Okay, so they're making the Sea of Monsters movie. I'm going to HAVE to watch it because it apparently will have Nathan Fillion as Hermes and Anthony Steward Head as Chiron; also the actress who plays Shirley on _Community_ will be one of the Grey Sisters. But the girl set to play Clarisse… she looks like Luna Lovegood! For real! MY MIND IS BLOWN.

Edited by Mellie Erdmann.

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen: Annabeth Tries to Swim Home<strong>

For a while, the group was too stunned by what had happened on the island to talk. Harry continued to steer the boat, trusting Percy's demigod instincts. So far they hadn't led him astray. Carter was curled up, clearly unsettled by the whole 'turning into a guinea pig' thing. Sadie was petting Muffin, still in the outfit the spa had put her in. Annabeth and Clarisse had changed into their spare sets of camp clothes, now talking quietly at the front of the boat.

Staring up at the cloudless sky, Harry wondered what challenge would be next. Soon the sun set, and the others went into the hut to sleep. Wearily Harry continued to man the rudder, watching out for anything out of the ordinary. He saw a row of green spines slithering across the waves, possibly a sea monster. Another time there was a plume of water spewing a hundred feet into the air.

Shortly after midnight, the boat was passing a smoking volcano island. The sea bubbled and steamed around the shore. Exiting the hut, Annabeth walked over to Harry.

"That's one of the forges of Hephaestus, where he makes his metal monsters."

"Oh. So… avoid it?"

Nodding, Annabeth agreed, "Go around. Far around."

Harry steered clear of the island, which soon became a red blob behind them. "Bird brain, is everything okay?"

"No. I'm not exactly eager to go to the Cyclops' island," the blonde confessed. "I don't like them."

"Why?"

She looked away for a minute before sighing. "I don't want to talk about it."

"What's going on?" grumbled Clarisse, walking over to them. "Can't sleep either, bird brain?"

"Shut up, blood brat." Annabeth stalked off to the other end of the boat.

Clarisse stared after her. "What's with her?"

Harry just shrugged. Clarisse called out, "Come on, Annabeth. What's the issue?"

Leaning against the boat's edge, Annabeth said, "I guess… I guess it can't hurt. When Grover was escorting me, Luke, and Thalia to camp, he got confused and took some wrong turns. Well, the worst wrong turn was into a Cyclops's lair in Brooklyn."

Annabeth stared down into the waves. "This Cyclops, he tricked us. He managed to split us up inside this maze of corridors in an old house in Flatbush. And he could sound like anyone. He lured us, one at a time. Thalia thought she was running to save Luke. Luke thought he heard me scream for help. And me… I was alone in the dark. I was seven years old, a year younger than Sadie is now. I couldn't even find the exit."

"Harsh," conceded Clarisse. "How'd you get out?"

"I- I remember finding the main room. There were bones all over the floor," Annabeth recounted, clearly lost in her memories. "And there were Thalia and Luke and Grover- all tied up and gagged, hanging from the ceiling like smoked hams. The Cyclops was starting a fire in the middle of the floor. I drew my knife, but he heard me. He turned and smiled. He spoke, and somehow he knew my dad's voice. I guess he just plucked it out of my mind. He said, 'Now, Annabeth, don't you worry. I love you. You can stay here with me. You can stay forever'."

Clarisse and Harry exchanged uneasy looks. There had been several occasions they had gone down to Jamestown to do damage control on Annabeth's relationship with her dad and stepmom. No way was Harry letting Annabeth lose her dad. For the most part it had worked.

Softly as she could manage Clarisse asked, "What did you do?"

"I stabbed him in the foot," Annabeth stated coldly. "He would've killed me, but I surprised him. It gave me just enough time to run to Thalia and cut the ropes on her hands. She took it from there."

"That's really brave, Annabeth," Harry commented admiringly. Clarisse nodded, saying, "Almost something a child of Ares would do."

But Annabeth shook her head. "We barely got out alive. I still have nightmares… the way that Cyclops talked in my father's voice. It was his fault we took so long getting to camp. All the monsters who'd been chasing us had time to catch up. That's really why Thalia died. If it hadn't been for that Cyclops, she'd still be alive today."

For a while there was silence, the trio watching the Hercules constellation rise in the night sky. Stretching, Clarisse ordered the two, "Get some rest. I can steer the boat for a bit."

"Thanks," smiled Harry, stepping away. Tiredly Annabeth and Harry returned to the hut. As they settled down to sleep, Harry told Annabeth, "I can't believe you're going straight into another Cyclops' lair to save Grover after what happened when you were seven."

"I have to. It'll save Grover and the camp," Annabeth responded tiredly, her back to him.

HPJHPJHPJ

Harry dreamed of the _Princess Andromeda_. He was in a beautiful stateroom, the curtains open to reveal the night sky. The air swirled with shadows as the voices of dead spirits whispered all around. They warned Harry: _Beware. Traps. Trickery._

In the center of the room glowed a golden sarcophagus. Just the sight of it filled Harry with dread. Harry decided it had to be connected to Kronos, because the feeling was very much like what he felt when he dreamt of Kronos's pit.

As he thought this, Kronos's cold laugh suddenly filled the room. The Titan told Harry, _"You don't have the courage, young one. You can't stop me."_

Harry got out Caledfwlch, releasing it to its true form. The ghosts swirled around him, whispering their warnings. His heart pounding, Harry found that he couldn't move despite knowing he had to destroy whatever was in that box.

Then came a female voice right next to him: "Well, Hairball?"

Looking over, Harry expected to see Annabeth but the girl wasn't her. She wore punk style clothes with silver chains on her wrists. She had spiky black hair, dark eye liner around her stormy blue eyes, and a smattering of freckles across her nose. Harry gulped, unable to speak.

"Well? Are we going to stop him or not?"

"Um…"

Rolling her eyes, she snapped, "Fine. Leave it to me and Aegis."

The girl tapped her wrist and her silver chains transformed- flattening and expanding into a huge silver and bronze shield. The monstrous face of Medusa protruded from the center, the sight of it filling Harry with fear. Drawing her sword, the girl advanced on the sarcophagus. The shadowy ghosts parted for her, scattering before the shield's terrible aura.

"No," Harry got out, frightened for her.

Ignoring him, she marched up to the sarcophagus and pushed aside the golden lid. For a moment she stood there, gazing down at whatever was in the box. The coffin began to glow. Her voice trembling, the girl insisted, "No. It can't be."

Kronos laughed so loudly that the whole ship trembled.

"NO!" screamed the girl as the sarcophagus engulfed her in a blast of golden light.

HPJHPJHPJ

"Ah!" went Harry, waking up. Carter and Sadie were staring at him. Seriously the latter informed him, "You were having a nightmare."

Her big brother nodded seriously. The two had changed outfits at some point- Sadie into a set of camp clothes, Carter into a pair of khaki pants and a blue buttoned shirt.

Stumbling out into the bright sunlight as he nibbled on an ambrosia square, Harry heard Annabeth and Clarisse arguing.

"Let's just sail far around it," Clarisse was insisting. "I'm not even sure if we have anything to block our ears with…"

"I want to hear their singing," Annabeth retorted. "Besides, Mr. Kane had Carter bring along some candle wax. Apparently he had a good idea what we'd be facing somehow. So you guys would be fine. Just tie me up or something!"

"Uh… no," retorted Clarisse, her eyes on a dark spot in the mist.

"But blood brat, they say the Sirens sing the truth about what you desire. They tell you things about yourself you didn't even realize. That's what is so enchanting. If you survive… you become wiser."

"Aren't you already a daughter of the goddess of wisdom?" interjected Harry.

Annabeth ignored him, saying, "I want to hear them. How often will I get that chance?"

"If you're sure…" went Harry doubtfully. "Look, Clarisse, let's help her or she'll just unplug her ears at some point."

"Fine," muttered Clarisse. Looking rather unhappy about it all.

Carter took over the rudder while Clarisse and Harry tied up Annabeth with rope before tying her to Maimer, which Clarisse had jabbed into the reed deck. Annabeth warned them, "Don't untie me, no matter what happens or how much I plead. I'll want to go straight over the edge and drown myself."

"Jeez, don't make it sound so tempting," Clarisse commented wryly, tightening the bonds on Annabeth's wrists.

"Sadie," called Harry. The young girl came over. "Yes, Harry?"

"While we're near the Sirens' island, keep an eye on Annabeth, okay? Make sure she stays put."

Sadie nodded seriously. Meanwhile, Carter had gotten out and kneaded enough wads of candle wax for the rest of them. They stuffed them in their ears.

Harry retook the rudder, not enjoying the sensation of hearing nothing but the blood rushing in his ears. As they neared the island, jagged rocks loomed out of the fog. Harry kept the boat a good distance away; since it was just a lot of reeds, the boat would be easily shredded.

Looking forward, Harry watched Annabeth. At first she seemed normal, but then she got a puzzled look on her face as her eyes widened. She strained against the ropes, calling out stuff. Sadie winced at how desperate she looked, and it tore at Harry's heart as well.

Unable to take it anymore, Harry refocused to study the island. He could only see mist and rocks, but floating in the water were pieces of wood and fiberglass, and even some flotation cushions from airplanes. Harry didn't like this evidence of how powerful the Sirens' song was.

A few minutes later, Harry felt rather than heard someone topple to the deck. Looking forward, he saw Sadie sprawled out on the deck just as Annabeth, having gotten out her knife, jumped overboard. Clarisse swore and headed forward but Harry stopped her.

"Son of Poseidon," he mouthed as Carter took the helm. Harry saw Annabeth swimming towards the island, the waves carrying her straight towards the jagged rocks that would kill her. He jumped over the side into the water. Taking control of the water, Harry created a jet stream that shot him forward towards the demigoddess. But a wave caught her, sweeping her between two razor sharp rocks. Plunging underwater, Harry kept swimming, using all of his watery powers to keep himself alive.

When he resurfaced, Harry was in a bay shaped like a semicircle. The water was full of wreckage and rocks, with the sand pitch black. Looking around, Harry saw Annabeth had also reached the bay, nearly at the beach.

As the mist cleared, Harry saw the Sirens on the beach. They possessed the bodies of giant black birds with human heads that were constantly changing. As their mouths moved, Harry saw them turn into people he had seen in his dreams: the four the Oracle had shown him, the brown haired girl and redheaded boy Kronos had shown, the Stoll brothers, and even the black haired girl he had just dreamed about. They smiled reassuringly, inviting him forward. But no matter their shape, their mouths were greasy and caked with the remnants of old meals. Yet Annabeth continued to swim towards them.

With a final burst of speed, Harry swam up to Annabeth and grabbed her ankle. A shock went through his body, and suddenly he saw the island as Annabeth must have been seeing it.

Three people sat on a picnic blanket in Central Park, a feast spread out before them. One of them was Annabeth's dad; a sandy-haired guy in his forties. He was holding hands with a beautiful woman who bore a marked resemblance to Annabeth and radiated such power that Harry figured she had to be Annabeth's mom Athena.

Next to them sat Luke, of all people. The whole scene glowed warmly as the trio talked and laughed. When they spotted Annabeth, their faces lit up with delight. Her parents held out their arms invitingly while Luke gestured for Annabeth to sit next to him as if his betrayal had never happened.

Behind the park was a city skyline. It was a rebuilt Manhattan in dazzling white marble, bigger and grander. It was the most magnificent city Harry had ever seen. And he knew that Annabeth had designed it all, that she had been the architect for a whole new world. She had reunited her parents, she had saved Luke, and she had done everything she'd ever wanted.

Blinking hard, Harry restored his vision to the reality of the monstrous Sirens ready to feast on Annabeth. He pulled Annabeth back despite her furious struggles. Harry had the currents pull them away from the bay but she kept fighting fiercely. Then they went under and Annabeth stopped struggling, looking rather confused. But upon resurfacing, she resumed fighting.

Harry realized that the Sirens' song was weaker or even gone underwater. Harry got the waves to push them down. Then he remembered Annabeth couldn't breathe underwater once they were nearly twenty feet down. But then he saw the bubbles produced by her fighting, and got an idea. Harry pulled all the bubbles in the area together, creating a huge bubble of air around them with their legs alone sticking into the water.

Gasping and coughing, Annabeth shuddered. Then she started to sob so brokenly it tore at Harry's heart. Awkwardly he patted her shoulder. When fish, including some marlins and a school of barracudas, started to approach Harry told them telepathically to scram. Reluctantly they did so.

"Let's get back to the boat," Harry suggested. "It's okay. Just hang on."

Annabeth nodded as she finished crying, muttering something Harry couldn't hear due to the wax in his ears. Harry had the current steer the bubble through the rocks and wreckage until they came upon the reed boat still heading away from the Sirens' island. The duo stayed underwater until Sadie gave them a thumbs up from over the boat's side.

So Harry had them surface, the bubble popping. Clarisse and Sadie helped them back aboard. Annabeth sat huddled in a blanket near the hut. When the island was out of sight, she looked up and mouthed the word 'safe'. Only then did the others take out their makeshift earplugs.

"Are you okay?" asked Sadie with a frown. Annabeth just murmured, "I didn't realize…"

"Didn't realize what?" asked Carter from the rudder.

Annabeth looked up, her grey eyes tense. "How powerful the temptation would be."

"I knew it was a stupid idea," muttered Clarisse, too quietly for Annabeth to hear. Harry still glared at her anyway.

Warily Harry confessed, "When I grabbed you… I saw what the Sirens showed you. I can't say I blame you…"

Annabeth pulled the blanket tighter around her. "My fatal flaw. That's what the Sirens showed me. My fatal flaw is hubris."

"Hub-what?" went Sadie in confusion. Carter explained, "Excessive pride."

"Deadly pride, really. Thinking you can do things better than anyone else… even the gods."

"Bird brain, you feel that way?" demanded Clarisse.

Looking down, Annabeth asked, "Don't you ever feel like, what if the world really is messed up? What if we could do it all over again from scratch? No more war. Nobody homeless. No more summer reading homework."

"I like that last one," Sadie commented.

Wearily Annabeth sighed. "I mean, the West represents a lot of the best things mankind ever did- that's why the fire is still burning. That's why Olympus is still around. But sometimes you just see the bad stuff, you know? And you start thinking the way Luke does: 'If I could tear this all down, I would do it better'. Don't you ever feel that way? Like you could do a better job if you ran the world?"

"Uh… no," Harry shook his head. Clarisse snorted, "I'd just mess it all up again."

"Then you two are lucky. Hubris isn't your fatal flaw."

"What is then?" frowned Harry.

"I don't know, but every hero has one. If you don't find it and learn to control it… well, they don't call it 'fatal' for nothing."

Clarisse asked dryly, "So was it worth it? Do you feel wiser or whatever?"

She stared off in the distance. "I'm not sure, blood brat. But we have to save the camp. If we don't stop Luke…"

"The world will end," Harry finished her sentence. Taking back the rudder from Carter, Harry thought about his dream. Clearly Kronos was up to something again… but who was that girl?

"Look," went Annabeth suddenly, eagerly. They all turned to look. Up ahead was another island covered in forested hills and white beaches and green meadows. Closing his eyes, Harry sensed it. They were at 30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. They had reached the home of the Cyclops.


End file.
